Sir Cumference and the Off-the-Charts Dessert by Cindy Neuschwander and Wayne Geehan: Book Review

Sir Cumference and the Off-the-Charts Dessert
Author: Cindy Neuschwander
Illustrator: Wayne Geehan
Publisher: Charlesbridge, 2013
Reviewer: Sharon M. Himsl
Age level: 8-11, Picture Book
Pages: 32

Move over boring chalk-board math lessons. Neuschwander and Geehan make learning about pie charts and bar graphs another fun math adventure in their latest addition in the popular Sir Cumference series. Lady Di and her husband Sir Cumference have a problem. The castle cook is ill and the Harvest Faire is about to begin, which means someone else must bake the faire’s Harvest Sweet. Two local bakers, Pia of Chartres and Bart Graf, are asked to bake several desserts. Pia bakes four pies and Bart bakes four batches of cookies. A taste test by the town’s people is then held to determine which dessert will become the Harvest Sweet. However, both bakers do a poor job of tallying the votes when the desserts are sampled. A curious cat and a hungry dog destroy the results. The bakers conduct another test, only this time they are more careful.

The night before the totals are revealed to Lady Di and Sir Cumference, Pia and Bart spy on each other and discover that their most popular desserts have tied. One pie and one cookie are clearly the winners on the pie chart and bar graph they have drawn. Now what will they do? The problem is solved through math and the bakers’ cooperation. Pia and Bart combine their ingredients and bake the winning dessert, Crème de la Crumb. Geehan’s bold illustrations (acrylic on canvas) are rich in color and full of detail. Seven more Sir Cumference books are also available in the series. 

 Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl