Sir Cumference and the Roundabout Battle
Cindy Neuschwander, author
Cindy Neuschwander is a native Californian, but she has lived in many places, including Germany, England, Austria, and Hawaii. As a mathematics education specialist, Cindy sought ways to make math fun, interesting, and comprehensible to her students. In 1992, while living in England, Cindy began working on her first book with this goal in mind.Sir Cumference and the First Round Table took five years to reach publication, but it remains a very popular book for its presentation of math concepts as well as for its amusing and exciting story. It has been followed by further adventures of Sir Cumference and his family. In her spare time, when she isn't writing or dreaming up new math adventures, Cindy enjoys activities with her family.
Read more about Cindy.
Wayne Geehan, illustrator
Wayne Geehan, a graduate of the Art Institute of Boston, has been illustrating books, board games, and jigsaw puzzles for over 20 years. When he isn't painting in his Massachusetts studio, he enjoys being with his family, reading, and researching his family's genealogy.
Read more about Wayne.
School Library Journal
This latest series installment uses stories involving a knight named Sir Cumference as jumping-off points to explore mathematical concepts tackles rounding. Edmund Rounds and his son, Rounds 2, are responsible for keeping an inventory of items at Sir Cumference’s castle. When Rounds 2 hands over his latest counts for inspection, Edmund notices that the number of bread loaves and butter pots has not been totaled. Rounds 2 admits that adding is the difficult part. As they total the items together, he finds that it is much easier to calculate numbers in groups of 10 (10, 20, 30, etc.). His father tells him that for some items, such as the number of bees in the hives, it’s acceptable to come up with an approximate number. To thank his father for his assistance, Rounds 2 sets off to count the bedding of some travelers passing by but discovers that the men are enemies intent on attacking the castle. As Sir Cumference prepares for battle, he asks Rounds 2 to retrieve the bow and arrow counts. While these items have been counted, they have not yet been totaled, and Rounds 2 is left to complete the calculations himself. By rounding up or down to the nearest 10, Rounds quickly completes the task in what soon becomes known around the castle as the Rounds 2 Method. VERDICT Complete with the illustration style and subtle puns expected of the series, this title will be enjoyed by fans of the previous books.
BayViews
A young boy, Rounds 2, learns to round off numbers as he must quickly determine how many bows and arrows there are in the midst of battle. A new addition to the Sir Cumference series, the story is entertaining, and the math is delivered with a practical application. Because of the dearth of information on this subject, this may prove highly useful. The acrylic-paint-on-canvas illustrations are rich with color. The people are somewhat stiff, but their eyes are full of personality. An old word for a beehive, skep, is used, which may send some readers to the dictionary.
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-57091-765-3
Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-57091-766-0
E-book
ISBN: 978-1-60734-766-8 EPUB
ISBN: 978-1-60734-718-7 PDF
Ages: 8-12
Page count: 32
8 1/2 x 9 1/2
Correlated to Common Core State Standards:
English Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Literature. Grade 4. Standards 1-4, 6, 10
English Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Literature. Grade 5. Standards 1-6, 10
Math. Content. Grade 4. NBT. A. Standards 1, 3