Circus Shapes: A MathStart Picture Book About Geometry and Visual Learning for Kids

MathStart Level 1

by Stuart J. Murphy, Edward Miller (Illustrator)

“Kids, young and old, fall in love with math when they see how real-life and effortless it becomes thanks to these books.” --Kimberly D. Mueller, Ed.D., First Grade Teacher, Ashbrook School, Lumberton NJ Circus Shapes is perfect for teaching shape recognition to pre-K through kindergarteners. Circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles—every one of these basic shapes is introduced by a cast of favorite circus animals under the big top. Kids will love the story and the illustrations by Edward Miller. Parents and educators will love how the story and pictures make understanding the math concepts a breeze—as well as the concrete examples of how math works. The book contains activities for adults to do with kids to extend math into their own lives.  Math skills are life skills, and the MathStart series supports success! MathStart's unique combination of stories, illustrations, and visual models helps teachers and parents in the teaching of math and provides all children with the opportunity to succeed. The math concepts taught in MathStart books conform to state and national standards. Level 1 is Pre-K–Kindergarten; Level 2 is Grades 1–3; Level 3 is Grades 2–4. The series follows math topics across grades so there is a foundational path to learning that runs through the levels. Help kids with their math skills  plus  their reading skills with the engaging and fun MathStart series!

Genres: Mathematics, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, School

40 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 1997

About the author

PICTURES & WORDS, STORIES & BOOKS
MathStart http://www.mathstart.net
I See I Learn http://www.iseeilearn.com

I was one of those kids who talked all the time in class. I loved telling stories. One day in the 4th Grade, my teacher said, “You tell such good stories, maybe you should try writing some of them down.” “Wow,” I thought. “She thinks my stories are good.” That’s when I started to really enjoy writing.

I was also the class artist. When I wasn’t talking,I was drawing. When I was older, I studied art at the Rhode Island School
of Design. That’s where I became interested in visual learning—how we decode and acquire information from graphs, charts, diagrams, models, illustrations and other images.

I became especially interested in educational publishing and have worked on the development of over a dozen major textbook programs, championing visual learning strategies from Pre-K through high school in every major curriculum area.

MATHSTART

The inspiration to write math stories for children was sparked by my work on a high school mathematics program. Visual learning strategies helped teens—who had been characterized as “reluctant learners’—understand difficult math concepts. Putting math in the context of stories based on their experiences made them feel more comfortable with abstract concepts. They actually became eager to apply math to real-life problems.
If this approach worked for older students, I began to wonder what might happen if younger children were introduced to math this way!

Even before children can read—or speak many words—they can interpret visual information with ease. The MathStart books use simple stories coupled with diagrams, graphs and other visual models to teach everything from probability and pattern recognition to area, capacity and negative numbers.

The Best Bug Parade, (comparing sizes) was my very first published book. It was absolutely thrilling to see my name in print! I never expected that one day there would 63 MathStart books, split over three levels for ages Pre-K to Grade 4.

Each book includes two pages of review and activities designed to help teachers and parents extend learning beyond the story, along with suggestions of related books by other authors. After all, if a child enjoys learning math through stories, then let’s have more stories!
(Pictures, Words & Math: An interview with Stuart J. Murphy )

THE MAIN STREET KIDS' CLUB: A MATHSTART MUSICAL

Now get out your dancing shoes—there is a musical based on six of the MathStart books! The Main Street Kids’ Club was workshopped at Northwestern University and adapted by Scott Ferguson, who also created the perennially popular production of Schoolhouse Rock Live!
The songs are terrific. The math is spot on. And the club motto makes my heart sing: “Math Skills are Life Skills!”

STUART J. MURPHY'S I SEE I LEARN

My latest series of books is focused on young children—Preschool and Kindergarten age.
I See I Learn books teach social, emotional, health and safety, and cognitive skills, such as how to make friends, build confidence, play safely, work together, manage emotions, and make plans. These skills are important for school readiness and for living happy, healthy, productive lives.

The stories “star” a wonderful bunch of friends who live in See-and-Learn City and attend Ready Set Pre-K. The cast includes Freda, Percy, Emma, Ajay, Camille, and Carlos. And, of course, Pickle, the green bull dog—who happens to have a soft-spot for butterflies—and Miss Cathy, their teacher.

I See I Learn stories are modeled on real-life situations and, just as in real-life, often involve more than one skill. For example, Freda Plans a Picnic is about sequencing, a cognitive skill, but the picnic itself is a social event. Percy Plays It Safe focuses on playground safety skills, but playing successfully in a group also requires self-regulation, an emotional skill.

Each book is reviewed by a tea

Reviews

[Relyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a colorful, fun and useful book for parents and teachers who are working to teach young children their basic shapes.

[Kalynne]

Storytime 45 kids ages 0-5
Book one (2-3 minutes): Circus Shapes by Stuart J. Murphy

Song/Rhyme/Game one (3-4 minutes): “I’m a little clown” Sung to: "I'm a Little Teapot"
I'm a little clown short and fat. (squat hold arms out)
Here is my tummy, here is my hat. (rub tummy, pat head)
I can do a trick as you will see,
Just turn around and look at me (spin around do a trick, kids copy you)

Book two (5-8 minutes): Where’s pup? By Dayle Ann Dodds

Song/Rhyme/Game two (5-8 minutes): Circus parade-play music have kids march rings bells, whistles whatever, then freeze when you pause the music

Book three (2-3 minutes): The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen

Special Signs: clown, elephant, lion, crowd, tricks

Activity: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2a/c9/...

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shapes are worked into a simple circus story. This Level 1 MathStart book was too simple for Miss 6 but we wish our library had the Level 3 books!

Miss 6 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a fun book for young children to interact with. Students can count how many of each shape is on the pages, and then discussions can be held afterwards about the shapes. I think this is especially fun for students because when they walk around the classroom they could compare the shapes they see there to the book. Overall I think this is a great book for introduction of shapes too, that can lead to many discussions following.

[Kianna Fullerton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Circus Shapes is a very fun, colorful book. The book does not have a lot of text. I think this is to make sure the students can fully absorb the illustrations and identify the shapes. This book introduces children to the idea that shapes are everywhere and in everything by using the circus as the prime example. You can use this book as an introduction to a shape scavenger hunt within the classroom.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book, and I think would work well for a one-on-one read best. I was hoping this would be a fun book for a storytime on shapes, but I think if would take too much explaining that the animals were making the shapes as part of the act. But still a fun book with simple text to review shapes.

[Maila Maslow · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has a circus for some reason.

[Tess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read to my students during summer camp, they had a blast looking for all the shapes and counting the sides.

[Adrianna Laskowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copyright-1998
Number of Pages-33
Book Format- Hard cover
Reading Level- Age level: Pre-K-2nd grade; GR level: H
Genre- Children's picture book, fiction
Lit Requirement- Concept book 3

Summary- An adult and three kids go to the circus. The circus is told from an audience member's point of view. The elephants make a circle and march around, horses make triangles, monkeys make squares, and bears make rectangles. At the end, all the performers, animals, and shapes are in view and the reader is asked to find all of the shapes.

Response- This is a fun way for younger readers to practice their shapes. Locating them in a fun, circus setting keeps them engaged. It may lead to students wanting to go to a circus themselves to pick out shapes!

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this book a 3.5 if that option was available. I did enjoy reading this book to my kids and I also enjoyed exploring the "ancient" art form of the circus show. The circus used to be a very traditional and common experience for children. Now, I'm not even sure if there are circus troupes in existence...

Another struggle I had with loving the book was that there were really only 4 shapes discussed - circles, squares, triangles and rectangles. I guess I'm a more is always welcome kind of parent/teacher. I like to expose my kids to as much as possible. So for that reason, I'm a little more partial to Have You Seen My Monster? for teaching and introducing shapes. But, overall, I thought this was a nice book to add to our reading pile and it did seem that my kids enjoyed it.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I borrowed this book for my daughter because she was asking questions about what happens at a circus. It's not an especially exciting book - the rhymes are predictable, and most of the text is written in service to a lesson in identifying basic shapes - but I have already been asked to read it twice, so it must be satisfying my daughter's curiosity well enough. When it comes to books by this author, however, I prefer Monster Musical Chairs and Every Buddy Counts.

[Christina Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun and practical way to introduce students to recognizing shapes. Students will be able to identify the shapes in this book because of the simple, linear illustrations. The book has very little text which also reinforces how student will be able to look through the book and recognize the different shapes such as circles, squares, triangles, and cylinders. I love the way this book uses an activity that kids love such as going to the circus to teach about shapes. I think this book will definitely have kids thinking about shapes and looking for them everywhere they go.

[Jayetta Carter-mcfarlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book to teach onset and rimes. The pictures, shapes, and text will be an exciting adventure for Pre-K through grades 1 as they learn about geometric shapes. The back of the book also suggests different activities (including art) to engage children as they learn about circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles. They help form connections to how these shapes are around them in their lives everyday.

[Hatka Kecalovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Circus Shapes by Stuart J. Murphy serves as a good resource for lessons on shapes. The book uses simple descriptions of shapes. The book discusses a variety of animals found in a circus environment. The book shows students that mathematics is prevelent everywhere within the real world. This book can be used in Pre-K to 2 grade classrooms.

[Linh Tong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will read this book when I'm introducing shapes to students. I will then let them retell the story using words such as circle, triangle, square, and rectangle. We will then go around our school to take pictures of objects that show these shapes. We will use the pictures to create our own book about shapes.

[Kathryn Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shows ordinary shapes in objects. Would be nice to use in the beginning-mid kindergarten. Could expand it further by possibly going to a circus and having an activity of them finding the shapes. Allows students to make a text to world connection.

[Christina Camp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about going to the circus and seeing all of the shapes that are there. This book also rhymes and is fairly short so students would easily be able to read it. The book tells about what parts of the circus represent specific shapes and then has the shapes drawn on the page as well.

[Denesha Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would use this book with younger kids to teach them the different shapes an show to identify them. After reading the book the kids could look around the room to identify shapes that they learned about in the book.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

My two-year-old storyhour kids really liked this circus book that also introduced four basic shapes to the kids.

[Abi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book teaches children about shapes in a fun way. It's shows circus performers making different shapes out of their bodies and allows children to guess the shapes they are making.

[Jazelle Washington · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's about all of the different shapes you would see at the circus. The horses make a triange, and the cages are rectangles. You will find circles and squares at the circus, too.

[Eugene Magee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this book. Can use this book to help when teaching early learners about geometric shapes.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhyming text describes the features of the circus and highlight basic shapes. Extension activities follow the story. PreK-2.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little book, as much about shapes as it is about circus acts, rhyming text, activities for parents and children in the back.