Tangled
From award-winning author Anne Miranda comes a rollicking rhyming story about an unruly gang of sixteen geometric shapes who get tangled in the neighborhood jungle gym until their friend comes to their rescue and order is restored. Perfect for fans of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
One day a little circle,
just as happy as could be,
got caught inside a jungle gym,
and couldn't wiggle free.
When the neighborhood shapes go climbing on the park jungle gym the last thing they expect is a tangle. First the circle, next the triangle and then the square. One by one soon all sixteen shapes are trapped. They push and pull and tumble and cry for help. Who will save them? One special shape can set the others free. Can you guess which one it is? This charming story makes learning the names of sixteen shapes as easy as a day in the park.
Written by: Anne Miranda
Visit Eric Comstock’s website: https://ericcomstock.us/
Visit Paula Wiseman Books website: https://simonandschusterpublishing.com/paula-wiseman-books
Watch the video read-aloud!
“Highly Recommending
Here is a picture book that can stand beside CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM. I love a picture book that rhymes as I think that is so essential for young readers to hear the cadence of the language and begin to understand words and letters. This book has the additional bonus of teaching about shapes as well. It is a story of the shapes working together to solve a problem. Each shape is introduced and the illustrations perfectly capture in a very simple way the story and what the shapes are feeling. Super cute!”
“When a little pink circle, sporting a wide grin and a line-drawn bow, gets trapped inside the jungle gym, her friends—all different shapes—try to help her get free, but one by one, they all get trapped as well. Soon, the town is in a complete frenzy, as more shapes gather to figure out how to free the group now hopelessly tangled. And then who should appear but a line, who, after carefully examining the situation from every angle, comes up with a mathematical solution. This is tailor-made for read-alouds; an engaging rhyme and energetic narrative, with some words set in bolder or more dynamic fonts (“What a horror! What a mess! / The shapes could not untwine. / Then rushing to the rescue, / came a straight and narrow line”), set the tone. Comstock’s retro monochromatic illustrations sneak in plenty of spatial and geometric concepts, and his cast of shapes has plenty of personality in their drawn-in facial expressions. A glossary of shapes provides opportunities for further learning in this bit of clever fun.
— Maggie Reagan”
“There are a couple little people enjoying the book currently! Even one kindergartner that said math was boring until he read your book! Thanks for your gift to the world!”
“This geometric book about shapes, friendships, and problem-solving is so cute I can hardly stand it. One by one the shapes get trapped inside a jungle gym and can’t get out. What shape will get them out? It’s playful, adorable, and hallelujah has rhymes that work!”
“My Thoughts as an Educator:
This book is a good introduction to shapes. Since it includes both 2-D and 3-D shapes, it’s allows for some interesting discussions about them. I thought that including the jungle gym was clever, since children will relate to similar structures on their playground (and maybe even the experience of momentarily being caught in the structure) and it also reminded me of classroom activities for building shapes using sticks and modeling clay. There’s a great chart on the endpapers that shows many different shapes.”