Cindy Neuschwander

I decided to study Cindy Neuschwander because I am currently

teaching 6th grade math. As a Math teacher, I have always looked for books
to bring into my classroom that had math concepts. It is easy to find these
kinds of books for the younger children but I struggled to find age
appropriate books for the middle aged students. I had heard of her books
about circumference, and I wanted to become more familiar with her and her
work. I also agree with Cindy that children enjoy learning with literature. I
have looked for books about math to use with older children and there is just
not a lot out there.
According to Thrailkill, I've found that weaving literature into math is a
wonder way to tap the talents of all students, no matter what their ability
levels may be. The line between "good" readers and "good" mathematicians
begins to blur. Children are more likely to build their confidence in each area
and to focus less upon what they see as their strengths and weaknesses in
school subjects.
I plan on using her books when we do our unit over geometry. My
students struggle with circumference, radius and diameter. As an adult it
seems like an easy concept but for my students, they really struggle. I am
hoping that bringing some literature in while teaching these concepts will
appeal to my kids and help them master these skills. As a teacher, we try
everything that we can think of to try and reach all of our students. Since I
teach strictly math, my students are always surprised when I pull out a book
to read to them. They think we are taking a break and relax, which is fine
with me. Sometimes when I get them to relax they open up and actually
learn something that they have been struggling with. Its funny, how when
they think we are not doing work, more learning seems to take place.

According to Murphy, anxiety about mathematics has become a

pervasive problem for both children and adults. Children's books that contain
math ideas can help. Stories bring math to life and provide a vehicle for
reaching more kids.

I believe that my students will respond in a positive way to Cindys

books. I do believe that her books have a narrow appeal to a small audience
but its an audience that needs to be addressed. I believe her books have
more of an appeal for boys but I am hoping that the girls will also enjoy the
play on words. We have so many students that struggle with math
concepts. I am hoping that my students will love her books and want to read
them over and over again. This will in return have my students reading
these vocabulary words over and over again. I really do not think they will
need the help of an adult to appreciate and enjoy her work.

Biography
Cindy Neuschwander was born in California. She has lived in Germany,
England, Austria, and Hawaii. She now resides in Pleasanton, California. She
has taught all grade levels in elementary school and high school. She is the
author of eight published picture books for children with mathematical
themes.
She is a mathematics education specialist and was looking for a way to
make math fun and interesting for children. She enjoyed using math
literature in her own classroom but could not find many books on math. She
decided to write books that would have a mathematical theme. Her first
book was Sir Cumference and the First Round Table. This book took her five
years before it was published, however this is a very popular book.
She followed with five more books about Sir Cumference and his
adventures with: Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi, Sir Cumference and
the Great Knight of Angleland, Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone,
Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter, Sir Cumference and All the Kings
Tens.
Cindy is also the author of: Amanda Beans Amazing Dream, 88 Pounds
of Tomatoes, the Chocolate Champs, Patterns in Peru, Pastry School in Paris,
Mummy Math.
She has a website where you can learn more about Cindy at
www.cneuschwander.com. She is also featured on another website
http://us.macmillan.com/author/cindyneuschwander with a question and
answer page.

References

Macmillan Publishers Blog (2014). Retrieved from

http://us.macmillan.com/author/cindyneuschwander

Murphy, S. J. (2000). Teaching math, reaching kids. Teaching Pre K - 8, 30(4),

50-52.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/231943851?
accountid=7083

Neuschwander, Cindy. Retrieved from

http://www.cneuschwander.com/index.htm

Thrailkill, C. (1994). Math and literature: A perfect match. Teaching Pre K - 8,

24(4), 64. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/231934363?accountid=7083

Kelli Bolin
Sir Cumference and the First Round Table
Written by Cindy Neuschwander
Illustrated by Wayne Geehan
Informational Book

Bibliographic Information
Neuschwander, Cindy. Sic Cumference and the First Round Table: A Math
Adventure. Illustrated by W. Geehan. Charlesbridge. 1997.
Target Audience
The target audience for Sir Cumference and the First Round Table would be
ages 9-11.
Evaluation
As a math teacher, with a specialization in reading, I absolutely love
this book. This book is a great way to introduce Circumference. It also is a
great book to help students remember vocabulary. There is a lot of

vocabulary that can be pulled out of this book for a discussion. Some
vocabulary words are: circumscribe, perimeter, circumference, geometry,
area, radius, diameter, diagonal, half, triangle, parallelogram, square,
rectangle, octagon, oval and circle. I believe that students who struggle in
math will find these books enjoyable while they are learning.
This book creatively exposes students to the geometric terms. For
example, Radius was very small which is something we talk about when
discussing the radius. It is smaller than the diameter.
I enjoy seeing the shapes turn into other shapes and I think my
students will enjoy it also, for example, when they cut the square diagonally
to form a diamond.
Summary
This story takes place in Camelot where King Arthur ruled. The people
lived happily for many years until one day they noticed their neighbors, the
Circumscribers were gathering at the border. The knights and Sir
Cumference went to the Kings castle. Lady Di, Sir Cumferences wife and
Radius, their son came a long also.
Sir Cumference complained to his wife that his throat hurt from
shouting to be heard at the end of the long rectangular table. Lady Di
suggested that they fix the table. She explained that you can cut the table
in half and put the two halves side-by-side. This would make your rectangle
table a square. However, at each corner the knights whispered to each other
while someone was talking. This was not going to work.
That evening Sir Cumference discussed with Lady Di their new
problem. Lady Di explained that if we cut the square table diagonally, we
could put the two halves together to make a diamond. The King could sit at
one end and Sir Cumference at the other end. The knights would not be in
any tight corners then. Geo, the carpenter explained that this was called a

parallelogram. Everyone liked this table except for King Arthur. He did not
like sitting at the sharp point. King Arthur explained to Sir Cumference that
the sharp point made him feel like a sword was pointing at him and it makes
him feel like fighting. They are trying to avoid a war not start one.
That afternoon Sir Cumference watched the knights joust outside. He
noticed that the flags were in the shape of a triangle and this gave him an
idea. He went to talk to Geo. Geo explained that if they cut the
parallelogram in half that would leave two triangles. However, the triangles
might be too small. Sir Cumference explained the problem to Lady Di. She
agreed that they triangle would be too small however; you could cut the
corners again and make an octagon. There is a nice picture to explain
exactly what she suggests to do.
Once the knights all sat around the octagon, another problem arose.
Everyone wanted their own side but there were only eight sides and twelve
knights. Who was going to share? King Arthur told Sir Cumference to have
the carpenter build a table like an egg so maybe they would behave more
like a flock. Geo explained that this was going to be harder to build because
it has no straight edges. He built the oval table and everyone sat down.
They raised their goblets to toast the table but there was another problem.
The knights at the end of the oval table bumped into each other. They did
not have enough room. King Arthur told everyone to leave except for Sir
Cumference.
Sic Cumference returned home after talking to King Arthur. He was
discouraged. Radius tells his father that when he has a problem that he
cannot solve, he does something else for a while. Sir Cumference, Radius
and Lady Di went riding. They noticed a fallen tree. Radius tells his father
that there is his table. Sic Cumference has Geo cut a cross section of the
trunk to make it into a table.

The next day, the table was a hit! Everyone got an equal position
around the table. There were no problems. King Arthur decided that the
best plan was to try to make peace with their neighbors. He decided to
celebrate that night. That night at the celebration, a messenger rushed in
with a sealed parchment. It explained that the Circumscribers were not
planning an attack. They were only trying to measure the area of their
kingdom.
The King announced that to honor these knights who gathered at this
table, they will be known as the Knights of the Round Table. We should thank
Sir Cumference, Lady Di and Radius for their help.
The last three pages explain the definition of diameter, radius and
circumference.

Book Reviews
According to Connect Magazine, medieval characters solve silly
problems, often with humor that is perhaps more intended for adults than
children (p. 19). Connect Magazine also says, Because the emphasis is
placed on the humor and cleverness in manipulating mathematical terms,
not in straightforward explanation of how the terms or concepts evolved.
This book could make understanding diameter, radius, circumference,
degrees, and angles very confusing (p. 19). I agree that this book could be
confusing for younger children but I think older children will find this
informative in a fun and engaging way.
According to the School Library Journal, Geehans illustrations,
particularly the diagrams, help readers understand the geometry. There is a
diagram for each table that Geo constructs. It shows the table and what
they do to it to turn it into a different shape.

References
Hamilton, J. (2004). Sir Cumference and the First Round Table: A Math
Adventure
(Book). School Library Journal, 50(9), 58.

Sir Cumference. (2007). Connect Magazine, 20(4), 19.

Kelli Bolin
Sir Cumference and All the Kings Tens
Written by Cindy Neuschwander
Illustrated by Wayne Geehan
Informational Book

Bibliographic Information

Neuschwander, Cindy. Sir Cumference and All the Kings Tens: A Math
Adventure. Illustrated by W. Geehan. Charlesbridge. 2009.
Target Audience
The target audience for Sir Cumference and All the Kings Tens would be
between first and fourth grade according to the School Library Journal.
Evaluation
This would be a great book to use with place value. Students could use
place value mats and counters to follow along with the book. Students could
make each set of numbers. Students could also work with expanded
notation using this book. This could also work as a center rotation while
studying or reviewing place value. I like how this book exposes students to
reading math numbers and math terms.

Summary
Lady Di and Sir Cumference decide to through a surprise party for the
king. Invitations were sent out and people began to arrive. The rooms were
filling quickly. Lady Di was getting nervous because she was not ready for
the party. Sir Cumference had everyone gather in the meadow. They
decided to practice a royal march greeting; however everyone began
crashing into each other.
Lady Di showed up because she needed to know how many people
were going to be there for dinner. It seemed like an impossible task to count
everyone. Sir Kell suggested that people form small circles and then each
group could count its members. However, this did not work. There were

people shouting out all kinds of different numbers. Her head was spinning
trying to keep track.
Sir Lionel Segment suggested they form a line and walk by Lady Di and
she could count them one by one. Lady Di did not like this suggestion. She
said that it would take too long and she was already hot.
Sir Cumference suggested they set up tents so that they could have
shade while they think of another way to count everyone. Once the tents
were set up, everyone tried to run into a tent. The tents werent very big so
the tents were bulging. Sir Cumference suggested that maybe we could use
parts of everyones ideas.
He told everyone to gather into small groups. The small groups should
get into a line that has ten people. Lady Di started counting but there were
so many rows. She suggested that if we put ten rows together, they would
equal one hundred and that would be easier to count. She counted 987.
Twenty-five more people arrived and were instructed to get together in
rows of ten. The extras joined the groups that were already formed but did
not make up ten. She then realized that there were now 1,012 guests.
Larger tents were set up to hold more people. There was one to hold
9000, 900, 90 and 9. More people arrived, they were organized and added to
the numbers. They assigned each guest to a tent. There were nine people in
the first tent, ninety in the second, nine hundred in the third, and nine
thousand in the fourth tent. The fifth tent was empty except for the tables
and benches.
The king arrived and he was very grumpy. Once everyone streamed
out of the tents and began singing and dancing. The king was happily
surprised. Next they had dinner and then cake. They then heard the
thunder of hoof beats. Oh no, more people!

Book Reviews
According to Bresnahan, Children will enjoy the lesson built into this
tale and identify with the birthday-party theme. While the story can be
enjoyed independently, most youngsters would benefit from sharing the
book with an adult to fully understand the place value system. The math
concept is explained in more detail in an authors note. The painterly acrylic
illustrations convey the action with humorous exaggeration and amusing
details (the depiction of a farmer and his wife is reminiscent of Grand Woods
American Gothic).

References

Bresnahan, M. (2009). Sir Cumference and All the Kings Tens: A Math
Adventure.
School Library Journal, 55(8), 81.

Kelli Bolin

Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland

Written by Cindy Neuschwander
Illustrated by Wayne Geehan
Informational Book

Bibliographic Information
Neuschwander, Cindy. Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland: A
Math
Adventure. Illustrated by W. Geehan. Charlesbridge. 2001.
Target Audience
The target audience for Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland
would be between ages 9-11. I believe this series could be used with 5th
grade on up to 10th grade depending on your students.
Evaluation
This is another book by Cindy Neuschwander that I love. I will be using
this in my 6th grade math classroom this year. There is a lot of vocabulary
that can be pulled out and discussed. Students will enjoy the story as well as
the cute puns. I think by adding this to my math class, I will be able to catch
some of the students that dont really like math. I am hoping that they will
see math in a different way and maybe realize that it is not that hard. It can
be fun also.

Summary
Radius, the son of Sir Cumference and Lady Di of Ameter wanted to be
a knight more than anything. He practiced riding, sword fighting and archery
every day. His teacher was Sir DGrees. One day his parents came to watch
and see what he had learned. Sir DGrees gave Radius directions. He first
told him Knightly right angle-----trot! and Radius made an exact right
angle. Next, he told him to double the right angle to make a straight angle.
His parents were very impressed with what he had learned.
Sir DGrees told Radius parents that he was ready to go on his first
quest. King Lell has disappeared and many have looked for him but none
has ever returned. Radius promises that he will succeed.
The next morning, Radius set out for his quest. Before he left, Sir
DGrees told him to remember his knightly right angle. Sir Cumference and
Lady Di gave Radius a medallion in the shape of a perfect circle. There were
numbers at the top of the circle (it looked like a protractor) but no one knew
what they were for.
The first town that he came to had rooftops pointed in steep angles.
Radius acknowledges that his mother would call them cute. Radius learns
that King Lells castle lies beyond the Mountain of Obtuse. The villagers tell
Radius that many have gone but none have returned.
Radius finds the castle and barely makes it across the bridge before it
collapses. There is a parchment on the door that explains one wrong turn
and you will feel the dragons sting. It is signed the Brothers Zig and Zag.
Radius rode into the castle and came to a circular chamber. There was
a carved circle with a line across its center. There were arches that led to
different rooms. Something flapped out of the shadows and bumped his arm,
when it did his medallion went flying and landed on the stone circle. He
noticed that the number 90 pointed directly toward one of the arches. He

notices that if he starts in the center and goes to the number 90 that would
form a right angle. He had practiced the knightly right many times. He rode
through the arch.
Radius rode down a dark hallway. He read the parchment again,
Finding next Big, Straight, and Slight. He wondered what was big. He
thought about the Mountains of Obtuse and remembered they were shaped
like big angles. Each hallway had a circle carved in front of it. When Radius
would hold the medallion over the circle, the number would measure the
angle of the hallway. Only one measured more than a right angle. It
measured 120, so Radius entered that hallway. It ended in a stairway.
Radius got off of his horse and started down the stairs.
The stairs led under the castle. They ended at a fiery pit. There were
two bridges. They both started from the same spot, but they crossed at
differed angles. Radius read and after Big the parchment read Straight.
He remembered that on the medallion, 180 was a straight line. He ran
across the straight bridge and ended in a dark tunnel.
Radius saw four glowing eyes and felt something moving toward him.
He ran as fast as he could. The tunnel ended and other tunnels shot off at
different angles. The parchment next said a Slight angle. He thought back
to the rooftops in the cute little village. That must mean less than a right
angle. The smallest angle he measured was 40, so that was the way he
went. He felt something following him.
Next the parchment read, Right to reach the king. Radius thought
that would be easy. He knows how to make a right angle, however when he
measured they all ended up at 90. He decided to try and again and slow
down. This time his measurements were 93, 85, 89 and..smoke filled the
tunnel. Something was about to get him. He could not see but fumbled his
way and his arm bumped a handle and a door opened.

He was met with sunshine and a Welcome, who might you be?
Radius explained who he was and that he was searching for King Lell. The
king said that you have found me. We have been trapped in the maze by Zig
and Zag but now they are free. The king told Radius that he deserves his
knighthood. They all found their way out of the maze by using the
medallion. The king had a celebration.
Radius explains how he used the medallion to find his way through the
maze. He talks about how the circle is divided into 360 parts. He then
discusses some of the vocabulary. Next, King Lell makes Sir Radius a knight
and names the kingdom Angleland.

Book Reviews
The School Library Journal begins with a summary of Sir Cumference
and the Great Knight of Angleland. It goes on to say, Sir Cumference has
something to offer a wide range of readers. Some will be too young to
understand the math and the word puns but will enjoy the story of a knight
rescuing a king. Others will puzzle over the math and how to use the
protractor (medallion) to solve the riddle. This group will be helped by the
somewhat primitively painted pictures, which give clues to these angled
decisions and enhance the story of a brave knight on his quest. Still other
children will note the story, groan at the puns, and wish for more
sophisticated illustrations. This book has a stronger story line than that
found in most math books. It should be useful to creative teachers and fun
for the right child.

References
Gifford, N.A. (2002). Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland (Book
Review). School Library Journal, 48(2), 125.

Kelli Bolin
Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter
Written by Cindy Neuschwander
Illustrated by Wayne Geehan
Informational Book

Bibliographic Information
Neuschwander, Cindy. Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter: A Math
Adventure. Illustrated by W. Geehan. Charlesbridge. 2006.
Target Audience
The target audience for Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter would be
between third and sixth grade according to the School Library Journal.
Evaluation
This was not one of my favorite books. I enjoyed the story. I also liked
that it included math but it was a confusing book. I will disagree that the
target audience would be between third and sixth grade. I feel that third
grade students would have a hard time understanding this story. I think that

this would be more appropriate for fifth grade through eighth grade; however
some eighth graders would probably think this book was too immature for
them.
I enjoyed the fact that this book talks about area and perimeter.
However this book needs to be used after students are familiar with area and
perimeter. It would not be a good book to introduce the unit.
I like the drawings that were used to explain some of the vocabulary
words. For example, I like the picture of the orange cut into slices and then
placed into a rectangle shape. I also like the last page where they have
included vocabulary and formulas.
Overall, it is a cute book but I did not enjoy it as much as I have
enjoyed her other books.

Summary
Sir Cumference and Lady Di had a niece name Young Per. She was
playing a game with Radius. He was teaching her the game called Inners
and Edges. The goal of the game was to count the edges on the outside of
your shape. The winner had the most edges. Lady Di explained that the
game came from the Countess Areana who lived on the Isle of Immeter.
That evening Young Per played the game by herself in bed. She
noticed that if she made a square, she could count just one side and multiply
by 4. She also noticed that if she made a rectangle, she could add one long
side and one short side together and then double it. Per noticed words on
the outside of the box. It said, The secret of Immeter is the name of the
game. Open where inside and edges are the same. She fell asleep
dreaming about the message.

Per decided the next morning that she was going to explore the island.
She invited Radius to come along. They jumped on their boat and took off.
When they reached the castle, they saw several doorways that reminded
them of the game Inners and Edges. They found one doorway that the
edges and inners were the same. This reminded Per that on the box it said,
Open where the inside and edges are the same. They tapped on the door
and it opened.
Once inside the castle they saw a large A in the middle of the floor.
Around the A it stated, Count half as many inside as out. This unlocks the
towers without a doubt. They decided that it was talking about the keys
around the A. Suddenly a sea serpent crashed through a window. They
hurried to count the keys. They counted the edges and inners of each key
until they found one that was half the edges. There was a key under the tile.
They unlocked another door and ran inside.
They noticed attached to the key was a ribbon with another message.
It said, Where 200 floor squares fit inside, Immeters secret does reside.
The next couple of pages talk about how Radius and Per cut an orange and
make a rectangle out of the pieces. It has a nice picture that explains what
they are doing. Radius realized that the orange slices were similar to the
floor. He counted off steps and measured. However, it was not long enough.
They needed to keep looking.
They searched for the second tower but the sea serpent saw them and
tried to get them. They made it to the second tower. Radius began
counting. This was it! They had found a tower that had 200 squares. They
wondered what to do next. They looked up and saw more words on the
ceiling. It said, The squares in the circle are the secrets key. Use the
number to signal the sea. They decided to ring the bell that they saw 200
times. The moment that she finished, the ocean began to foam and the
monster rose up out of the sea. The monster dropped a locket from its

mouth. It read, The Isle of Immeter is yours to keep. The Palimpsest will
protect you awake or asleep. The note was signed by the Countess Areana.
The Palimpsest (sea monster) gave Radius and Per a ride home. Sir
Cumference and Lady Di were waiting for them. Radius explained about
their trip and all that they had learned. Sir Cumference smiled, So one half
of the circumference times the radius equals the inside of a circle.
The next day they had a celebration. Per was pronounced Lady Per of
Immeter. Sir Cumference named the outside of a circle perimeter after Lady
Per. They decided to call the inside the area after Countess Areana.

Book Reviews
According to Bresnahan, Readers already familiar with these formulas
(area and perimeter) will have the most ease understanding and solving the
mystery. Teachers introducing the concepts of perimeter and area might find
the book useful. Libraries that own the four earlier books in the series will
want to consider adding this latest adventure to their collections.

References
Bresnahan, M. (2006). Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter: A Math
Adventure. School Library Journal, 52(8), 108.

Conclusion

Cindy Neuschwanders books would be a great set of books to add to

any classroom. They are well written and contain a lot of great math
vocabulary and concepts. They would be a great addition to any math
program. Her books contain good stories that add fun with play on words
that combine with math. There are some aspects that children may miss but
these books could be read over and over again. Each time, a student would
probably catch something that they missed the last time.
Cindys books do have a common theme. They are dealing with math
in literature. She has brought a new twist on teaching math concepts. I
hope she continues writing more books. I will be using all of the Sir
Cumference books in my classroom this year. I do a lot of teaching in
centers or stations. I will probably read her books after I introduce a topic
and spend some time working on the topic. I will pull her books out toward

the end of my unit. This way I am hoping that I will reach my students who
are struggling. During their station time, I will have an activity that will go
along with the book. One activity might be for my students to pull out the
vocabulary words that they find in her books.
I enjoyed the illustrations that Geehan has drawn. He has provided a
picture to go along with the description. Sometimes the description can be a
little confusing, so having a diagram or picture really helps in understanding
what is being taught. One of the examples that sticks out to me is where he
takes an orange and divides it into segments. He then shows how the
segments can form a rectangle. This is something that students really need
to see. I will probably have some circles that look like oranges where the
students can cut them up and do exactly what the diagram shows. This way
they will have a hands on experience. They will not only see it, read it. They
will do it.
Callan explains that, As I use literature with my lessons, I've been able
to help my students explore and investigate different math topics.
Integrating different mathematical topics after discussing books can also
help children make the connection to mathematics in their daily lives. This
is what I strive for, having students make that connection to their own lives.
If I can get my students to this point, then I feel like I have succeeded at my
job.

References

Callan, R. (2004). Reading + math = A perfect match. Teaching Pre K - 8, 34(4), 50-51.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/231934176?accountid=7083