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Tangled: A Story About Shapes
“Clever fun.” — Booklist
“[A] delightful geometric tale…that kids will surely love.” — School Library Journal
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.
“[A] delightful geometric tale…that kids will surely love.” — School Library Journal
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.
40 pages, Hardcover
Published June 25, 2019
3 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Anne Miranda
120 books17 followersI am a freelance writer of books and educational materials for very young children. I'm represented by Ron Zollshan at Kirchoff/Wohlberg in Ct.
I have been published by: Addison-Wesley, Boyds Mill Press, Bradbury Press, Bricks (Korea) BridgeWater Books, Bt Bound, EP Dutton, Harcourt Brace & Company, Hampton-Brown, Heinemann (Fauntas & Pinnell) Holt, Houghton Mifflin, Hyperion, Joy Street Books, Laidlaw, Little Brown, LB Kids, Macmillan McGraw-Hill, McGraw Hill School Division, Modern Curriculum Press, Newbridge Educational Publishing, Nutmeg Media, Options Publishing, Perfection Learning, Scholastic, Scott Foresman, Silver Burdett and Ginn, Simon & Schuster, Steck-Vaughn, Troll Medallion, Turtle Books, Turtleback Books, The Rowland Reading Foundation, Time Life Books for Children, Voyager, and William H Sadlier Inc.
I have been published by: Addison-Wesley, Boyds Mill Press, Bradbury Press, Bricks (Korea) BridgeWater Books, Bt Bound, EP Dutton, Harcourt Brace & Company, Hampton-Brown, Heinemann (Fauntas & Pinnell) Holt, Houghton Mifflin, Hyperion, Joy Street Books, Laidlaw, Little Brown, LB Kids, Macmillan McGraw-Hill, McGraw Hill School Division, Modern Curriculum Press, Newbridge Educational Publishing, Nutmeg Media, Options Publishing, Perfection Learning, Scholastic, Scott Foresman, Silver Burdett and Ginn, Simon & Schuster, Steck-Vaughn, Troll Medallion, Turtle Books, Turtleback Books, The Rowland Reading Foundation, Time Life Books for Children, Voyager, and William H Sadlier Inc.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
July 13, 2019
Who knew simple shapes could be so entertaining?
The synopsis compares this book to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, but I actually like Tangled more. It's about problem solving, as well as friendship, and as a bonus, readers get to learn the names of a variety of shapes. (If you don't know what a tetrahedron is, you will after reading this book!)
The pictures are simple, featuring anthropomorphized shapes in a limited colour palette. They're not the most sophisticated illustrations, but they work great with this subject matter.
Overall, this is a fun book with great rhymes, fun pictures, and some education thrown in for good measure. If you like the premise of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, you might like this book, too.
Quotable moment:
The synopsis compares this book to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, but I actually like Tangled more. It's about problem solving, as well as friendship, and as a bonus, readers get to learn the names of a variety of shapes. (If you don't know what a tetrahedron is, you will after reading this book!)
The pictures are simple, featuring anthropomorphized shapes in a limited colour palette. They're not the most sophisticated illustrations, but they work great with this subject matter.
Overall, this is a fun book with great rhymes, fun pictures, and some education thrown in for good measure. If you like the premise of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, you might like this book, too.
Quotable moment:
July 15, 2022
“I really like this book because it’s the best.” - Ella, 7.14.22
September 12, 2019
Reviewed for School Library Journal, 6/2019.
PreS-Gr 2—One day a perfectly innocent and adorable circle is playing on the jungle gym when she gets stuck inside it. Unable to extricate herself, she asks her friend Triangle to set her free her but he also ends up trapped. The same cruel fate befalls an ellipse and a group of pentagons who all bravely try to untangle the others but end up imprisoned. Help appears in the form of a straight and narrow line, who takes immediate command of the situation. With a clever plan utilizing some bystander shapes, they knock the jungle gym down freeing those inside. Line then explains to the jungle gym that she should make her spaces wider and soon all the shapes are able to play without peril. The rhyming text begs to be read aloud and will be an entertaining introduction to various shapes. Comstock's playful and expressive digital illustrations are done in warm tones and mimic chalkboard drawings. There is a gallery of shapes at the end that kids will surely love studying. VERDICT: This delightful geometric tale is a must have for most libraries.—
PreS-Gr 2—One day a perfectly innocent and adorable circle is playing on the jungle gym when she gets stuck inside it. Unable to extricate herself, she asks her friend Triangle to set her free her but he also ends up trapped. The same cruel fate befalls an ellipse and a group of pentagons who all bravely try to untangle the others but end up imprisoned. Help appears in the form of a straight and narrow line, who takes immediate command of the situation. With a clever plan utilizing some bystander shapes, they knock the jungle gym down freeing those inside. Line then explains to the jungle gym that she should make her spaces wider and soon all the shapes are able to play without peril. The rhyming text begs to be read aloud and will be an entertaining introduction to various shapes. Comstock's playful and expressive digital illustrations are done in warm tones and mimic chalkboard drawings. There is a gallery of shapes at the end that kids will surely love studying. VERDICT: This delightful geometric tale is a must have for most libraries.—
November 18, 2019
This has high visual appeal, but I wasn't a huge fan of the story (which was in verse). But my five-year-old loved it and asked to read it again.
July 7, 2019
So fun!
June 27, 2019
A rowdy gang of sixteen geometric shapes get tangled in the neighborhood jungle gym.
September 25, 2019
The rhyming text is great -- very fun to read aloud. But I do have some hesitations about this book:
1. I'm not sure I understand how the lever freed the shapes from being tangled in the jungle gym. It looks like it somehow destroyed the jungle gym. Is that really a good solution? Especially considering it's referred to as "her" later in the text as though sentient. I will have to share this with some kids to find out if it's confusing to them.
2. As the Kirkus review points out, the female shapes have a bow and/or eyelashes, which is annoying. When my daughter was a toddler she insisted only girls have eyelashes. I was like, where are you getting this? And then I realized it's from cartoons like this. Male characters are neutral. Female characters have something added (usually eyelashes or a bow) to mark them as different. Sigh.
3. Do you really understand what a tetrahedron is from the illustration in this book? I certainly did not and had to look it up. It's a three-dimensional shape rendered as a small triangle inside a bigger triangle. I don't think it works.
4. My public library copy of the book has the book jacket taped on so I can't see the full endpapers. If an illustration is crucial to your book, please don't put it on the part of the endpapers that are covered by the jacket.
1. I'm not sure I understand how the lever freed the shapes from being tangled in the jungle gym. It looks like it somehow destroyed the jungle gym. Is that really a good solution? Especially considering it's referred to as "her" later in the text as though sentient. I will have to share this with some kids to find out if it's confusing to them.
2. As the Kirkus review points out, the female shapes have a bow and/or eyelashes, which is annoying. When my daughter was a toddler she insisted only girls have eyelashes. I was like, where are you getting this? And then I realized it's from cartoons like this. Male characters are neutral. Female characters have something added (usually eyelashes or a bow) to mark them as different. Sigh.
3. Do you really understand what a tetrahedron is from the illustration in this book? I certainly did not and had to look it up. It's a three-dimensional shape rendered as a small triangle inside a bigger triangle. I don't think it works.
4. My public library copy of the book has the book jacket taped on so I can't see the full endpapers. If an illustration is crucial to your book, please don't put it on the part of the endpapers that are covered by the jacket.
February 2, 2020
Tangled by Anne Miranda, illustrated by Eric Comstock. PICTURE BOOK. Paula Wiseman (Simon & Schuster), 2019. $18. 9781481497213
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
When a circle gets stuck in a jungle gym, other shapes come to her rescue. Each shape has a different style of trying to get her out, but ultimately it takes working together to free her.
This book has a great rhythm and rhyme with a charming matte aesthetic. This would make a perfect read aloud of students learning about shapes.
Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
When a circle gets stuck in a jungle gym, other shapes come to her rescue. Each shape has a different style of trying to get her out, but ultimately it takes working together to free her.
This book has a great rhythm and rhyme with a charming matte aesthetic. This would make a perfect read aloud of students learning about shapes.
Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
May 8, 2021
Title: Tangled
Author: Anne Miranda
Illustrator: Eric Comstock
Genre: Children’s Literature, Fiction
Theme(s): Shapes
Opening line/sentence: One day a little circle, just as happy as could be, got caught inside a jungle gym and couldn’t wiggle free.
Brief Book Summary: In this book, shape after shape gets caught in a jungle gym trying to help the previous shape free. With the help of a prism and a sphere, a line comes up with a plan to help free the shapes, and it works.
Tell Me Framework:
Like(s): I like how this book tells an entertaining story while at the same time informing the reader about various shapes.
Dislike(s): I do not dislike anything about this book.
Pattern(s): The sentences rhyme. And on each page, a new shape is introduced, and that new shape gets caught in the jungle gym.
Puzzle(s): Was there any reason why the author chose those particular shapes?
Consideration of Instructional Application: This book would be a great introduction to a lesson on shapes. Perhaps this book could be followed with a shape block activity or even getting familiar with the names of shapes through a vocab activity.
Author: Anne Miranda
Illustrator: Eric Comstock
Genre: Children’s Literature, Fiction
Theme(s): Shapes
Opening line/sentence: One day a little circle, just as happy as could be, got caught inside a jungle gym and couldn’t wiggle free.
Brief Book Summary: In this book, shape after shape gets caught in a jungle gym trying to help the previous shape free. With the help of a prism and a sphere, a line comes up with a plan to help free the shapes, and it works.
Tell Me Framework:
Like(s): I like how this book tells an entertaining story while at the same time informing the reader about various shapes.
Dislike(s): I do not dislike anything about this book.
Pattern(s): The sentences rhyme. And on each page, a new shape is introduced, and that new shape gets caught in the jungle gym.
Puzzle(s): Was there any reason why the author chose those particular shapes?
Consideration of Instructional Application: This book would be a great introduction to a lesson on shapes. Perhaps this book could be followed with a shape block activity or even getting familiar with the names of shapes through a vocab activity.
November 22, 2019
I wasn't wild about this book. The rhyming text was effective, and I was impressed by the author's ability to balance a plot, rhyme scheme, and the inclusion of a variety of shapes without any of it feeling forced. That being said, it's impossible for me to overlook the fact that the shape who initially gets stuck in the jungle gym is referred to with she pronouns, colored pink and illustrated with a bow, while almost all of the other shapes (who are, of course, introduced as they attempt to rescue the stuck pink circle) are referred to with he pronouns and are free from bows or other clothing illustrations--as they are just shapes, after all. It's neither a big deal nor a small one-- kids aren't going to be damaged or even notice this kind of unnecessary gendering in one book, but it adds up over time and adds nothing but stereotypical gender associations to the world.
Themes: Shapes
Themes: Shapes
May 11, 2021
This book was so simplistic yet so adorable. I loved the pictures in it; even though they were simple shapes they made up the whole book and they were just so perfect for the audience they will capture. The story is about how all these little shapes get tangled in this jungle gym and a line comes along and helps then get untangled. This book introduces a lot of shapes which is why this book would be good for a lesson on shapes. At the very end their is also a section with all of the shapes names and a picture of what they look like which I find very helpful if you want to point out specific shapes or are teaching new shapes. You could also use this page to make comparisons between different shapes. A must have in my future classroom!
August 21, 2019
Finally! A book with ALL of the basic shapes (16 altogether) that kids need to know and that I might just Google rather more often than I probably should as I didn't pay such strict attention to Geometry when it came to trapezoids and and other things of the less common nature.
Boom! Here they are in a not-annoying rhyming story about friendship. The illustrations have a retro sort of feel and charm. And I must confess that I wasn't as in it for the story as much as the novelty of seeing each new shape appear. Wow! They have them all! Caregivers are going to love this! I am going to love this to read to Mister
Boom! Here they are in a not-annoying rhyming story about friendship. The illustrations have a retro sort of feel and charm. And I must confess that I wasn't as in it for the story as much as the novelty of seeing each new shape appear. Wow! They have them all! Caregivers are going to love this! I am going to love this to read to Mister
June 1, 2023
Geometric shapes are the characters in this rhyming picture book. How refreshing! How clever!
Sure, this lively tale with a happy ending deserves FIVE STARS.
I do recommend, though, that you only share this book with children who know the names of geometric shapes. And at a certain part of the story, pause and explain to your reader(s) a highly specialized move that could be achieved by this book's very active prism.
Short story made longer... Although this is clearly a picture book, the "characters" are uncommonly sophisticated.
Sure, this lively tale with a happy ending deserves FIVE STARS.
I do recommend, though, that you only share this book with children who know the names of geometric shapes. And at a certain part of the story, pause and explain to your reader(s) a highly specialized move that could be achieved by this book's very active prism.
Short story made longer... Although this is clearly a picture book, the "characters" are uncommonly sophisticated.
picture-books
September 9, 2024Date: 05.13.24
Attendees 50
Theme: Shapes/Math
Introduction and announcements: Shake my sillies out by Raffi (shaker eggs)
Book one: Tangled by Anne Miranda
Song/rhyme/game one: Big Red Barn with Shapes
Book two: Bigger than you by Hyewon Kyung
Song/rhyme/game two: Move by Super Simple Songs
Book three: How Tall? Wacky Ways to Compare Height by Mark Weakland
Song/ rhyme/ game three: Music Rhythm Games (Shapes)
Announcements: Summer Reading
Activity: Free play with math/math toys/sensory table
Attendees 50
Theme: Shapes/Math
Introduction and announcements: Shake my sillies out by Raffi (shaker eggs)
Book one: Tangled by Anne Miranda
Song/rhyme/game one: Big Red Barn with Shapes
Book two: Bigger than you by Hyewon Kyung
Song/rhyme/game two: Move by Super Simple Songs
Book three: How Tall? Wacky Ways to Compare Height by Mark Weakland
Song/ rhyme/ game three: Music Rhythm Games (Shapes)
Announcements: Summer Reading
Activity: Free play with math/math toys/sensory table
September 8, 2023
This is a funny story that teachers the reader about shapes but also working together and problem solving. First, circle gets trapped in the juggle gym and then many more shapes! They think it is hopeless until straight and narrow line comes to the rescue! The back cover of this book features all the different types of shapes and labels them. This book would be a great resource to use when learning or reviewing identifying advanced shapes.
December 26, 2019
Age: Preschool-1st grade
Math: Shapes, Geometry
Several shapes get stuck in a messy jungle gym and are saved by teamwork and quick thinking. While the solution isn't particularly satisfying, the rhymes are an absolute delight to read aloud and the wide diversity of shapes feel seamlessly integrated.
Math: Shapes, Geometry
Several shapes get stuck in a messy jungle gym and are saved by teamwork and quick thinking. While the solution isn't particularly satisfying, the rhymes are an absolute delight to read aloud and the wide diversity of shapes feel seamlessly integrated.
April 26, 2021
An absolutely adorable book about a set of shapes who get trapped or try to help the others who are trapped on the jungle gym. It is a fun way to learn about the various shapes with both rhymes and some problem-solving elements. A great preschool level book.
November 12, 2022
A funny little story about a bunch of shapes that live together in a town. One gets stuck inside a jungle gym, and as others try to help more get stuck, until a rescue is made. Simple, crayon-like illustrations. A good way to learn about shapes!
August 4, 2019
3.5 stars for this out of shape book
Read
August 10, 2019very clever
introduction to shapes!
introduction to shapes!
August 12, 2019
Math plus rhyming. Another must for K-2 classroom
August 17, 2019
Clever introduction to 16 shapes who get into a tangled predicament in a jungle gym.
December 29, 2019
A group of shapes playing outside gets stuck ont he jungle gym. Elementary and up
January 12, 2020
Cute story about all sorts of shapes and the use of a wedge and a lever to help them escape from the jungle gym on the playground.
October 7, 2020
A cute story in verse about shapes that get all tangled up in the playground. Would make a great read a loud for school children learning their shapes.
January 26, 2021
My little kids liked this story about a circle getting tangled up and stuck on a playground. Several different shapes come along to help and also get tangled up.
January 30, 2021
Jack and Ryan really liked reading this one. Lots of giggling, especially since his teacher shared an audio-type version of this with the class.
February 25, 2021
This is a great way for kids to learn about shapes, and a perfect addition to any elementary math classroom. Fun!
(would work well with a STEAM program)
(would work well with a STEAM program)
July 27, 2021
What a wonderful book! The rhymes are tight, the art is adorable, the story is interesting, you learn about shapes and there's a mystery: how will the shapes get out out of the jungle gym?
August 30, 2021
3.5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews