Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this collaboration-focused guide to the Chinese tangram puzzle, Liu-Perkins and Scurfield introduce seven shapes on a mission to end a drought. Across a wilted landscape, rendered in fluidly lined acrylic ink and paint as well as charcoal, sky-blue Little Triangle sets off in search of a kind dragon to help bring rain. The shape shows off its limited solo talents before encountering other shapes with which to create new forms. It combines with an orange triangle to take flight as a butterfly; when a square joins the party, they combine to form a bat. Gaining other geometric friends along the way, the crew "angled, tangled, and wrangled" themselves into various animals until reaching a steep mountain. After seemingly endless configurations, they're close to giving up--until one more idea brings about a solution. Offering narrative life to an age-old puzzle, the creators introduce geometric thinking while sparking creativity and underlining themes of teamwork and perseverance. An author's note and more about tangrams concludes. Ages 4--8. (Aug.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2--For hundreds of years, tangrams have been used to support mathematical awareness and problem-solving. In this book, the pieces of the tangram come alive, and they are on a quest to find the dragon who has the power to break the drought in their beloved home. As the pieces join together, they find ways to investigate the world around them by becoming creatures like a butterfly, a fish, a dog, and more. With each new addition, the possibilities of what the pieces can become grow to new heights. This charming picture book brings the tangram to life in an approachable and unconventional way. The pieces of the tangram all have unique personalities, and they demonstrate persistence as they work together to create shapes that are beneficial to their quest. Though there are complementary backgrounds on each page, the tangram pieces themselves are the primary focus of the images, and their specific colors help readers to identify each one. Unfortunately, the text is small and remains static throughout the book, but the storytelling makes the tale well-suited to be shared with classrooms practicing tangrams themselves. Chinese language, culture, and history are embedded within the story, and back matter gives readers insight into the design of the book while inspiring them to create tangram shapes of their own. VERDICT This fun, STEM-focused book blends Chinese culture, history, and mathematics into a useful and memorable story.--Mary R. Lanni
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Introducing the classic puzzle known as the tangram, a simple tale shows how seven geometric shapes can be arranged into a host of animals and other things. "Nǐ hǎo! Hello!" While searching for a dragon to bring rain to the dry land, Little Triangle meets and makes a butterfly with Second Little Triangle. The duo encounters Square, and they all combine to create a bat. Parallelogram, Medium Triangle, and a pair of Big Triangles join the fray--until at last all assemble into a dragon that soars into the sky to create clouds. Scurfield draws simple faces but leaves the shapes intact in the illustrations so that hands-on readers have the option of placing their own "tans" from an attached sheet of cutouts (not seen) on top of each. In several full-spread galleries, she adds dozens of other tangram figures to create. Along with noting in the afterword that the seven pieces can be made into thousands more, Liu-Perkins looks at the many ways this low-tech puzzle promotes concentration and persistence, teaches mathematical concepts, and fosters creativity and storytelling skills. She also traces its history and uses in China, where it was invented, and beyond, and notes that the animals that the shapes form have cultural significance in China. The plotline may be too rudimentary to excite much response in younger audiences, but this may well open a gateway to hours, if not years, of mind-expanding play. Inviting, if more utilitarian than literary. (Informational picture book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
