Virginia Walton Pilegard

I would have liked a more thorough author's note, or further reading, but I suppose the brief note given is all that is actually relevant that is available. It does seem odd that dozens of people could not re-assemble the broken tile, but, sure, for the story to have a child hero and to be fun we can accept that. I really liked the illustrations... and I think I like the young monk's solution best of all (even though it wasn't acceptable to the warlord). Note the details of the show more illustrations, especially the celebratory one near the end. I will consider more of the 'series.' show less

Set in ancient China, Virginia Walton Pilegard brings to life the puzzle of the tangram. After a beautiful tile is dropped and broken into pieces, the Warlord holds a contest. This contest is to see who can put it back together, and whomever does gets to live in the palace. After several people try, creating animals out of pieces instead of the square it once was, a peasant boy has a surprise for the Warlord. The author includes a master copy of the tangram puzzle as well as the animals in show more the story.

This book encourages students to interact with the story. Each part describes an animal that the students can make with their own tangram seta. This fun and interactive book is a good way to keep students working with shapes.

Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 4.5 show less

This was a good one to read aloud and talk about overcoming distractions - perfect for my focus-challenged 8yo! The end notes were pretty flimsy and could be much improved. But there was a craft idea included that could be really great for building math skills.

Review: "The Warlord's Puzzle" is a story about a very proud Chinese warlord who wants to punish one of his artists from dropping and breaking the most beautiful tile in the land. Instead of punishing the artist however, he suggests to hold a contest to see if anyone can mend it. After many failed attempts, a young peasant boy figures out the puzzle and is given riches and a place in the king's palace. The tile is in the shape of a Tangram.

Genre: Legend

Genre Critique: I categorized this show more story as a legend because it seems to be a popular Chinese story, but is not necessarily historically authentic. It encompasses important aspects of Chinese culture and is a story that could be retold slightly differently over time.

Character Critique: The Warlord is the protagonist in this story and is hard to predict because he has a kind side that the reader does not initially see. Throughout the story is character is proven to be very dynamic as he is always on the edge of being furious with his pupil's, but by the conclusion we see that he is kind-hearted and true to his word. show less