The Reindeer Remainders is a very clever way of teaching maths concepts. Division, remainders and prime numbers are explained in an easily understandable and child friendly way as a group of reindeer try to make sure that none of them are left out.
The Story: Twelve excited reindeer race into class to prepare for Showcase Night. But a thirteenth reindeer has joined them! The reindeer need to get into pairs but it’s not possible. There’s more confusion when Mr Snow asks them to work in threes and Professor Fox asks them to work in groups of four. The reindeer, distraught at always leaving one out, ask Mrs Lynx what they should do and with her encouragement they work out a way to present their showcase without any remain-DEER.
We love the woodland setting of The Reindeer Remainders and the gentle encouragement that the reindeer give each other to solve the problem of the remain-DEER in an inclusive and caring way. Mrs Lynx is wonderfully supportive as she stands back to let the reindeer work out the answer to the problem in time for their Showcase Night.
The muted colours in the whimsical woodland illustrations perfectly complement the rhyming text, lessons take part in different areas of the woods with different teachers so there are new details to spot in each picture. We also love the outfits – the reindeer wear adorable neck scarves and Mr Snow’s stripy waistcoat is particularly snazzy!
At the end of the story there are explanations about reminders and prime numbers with illustrations to show mathematical processes. It’s a great story to introduce the concept of prime numbers. After reading children could do their own investigations using bricks or beads to represent the thirteen reindeer. They could also be encouraged to work through each number sequentially to discover which numbers under thirteen are prime numbers.
There’s also praise for the reindeer who have worked hard to make sure that no reindeer is left out. Children are encouraged to acknowledge the emotions they may experience when they feel left out as well as suggesting ways that they can include others in group situations.
Age Range: 4 +
Author: Katey Howes / Illustrator: Marie Hermansson
Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the review copy of this very clever maths concept book.
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