← The Green

Tila's Lots · ages 3-5

Round the Edge

The idea: the inside and the edge are two different counts.

Tí pushes in the last stick of a little fence round a nine-square patch while Fence the goat watches.

Read it

Five nights, one book

Little children love the same story again. Read this one five nights running, with a different job each night.

  1. listen.
  2. say the last words.
  3. join in the refrains.
  4. stop and ask what comes next.
  5. tell it to a toy.

Who is in this book

Every recurring character has a short tune, so you can tell who is on stage before a word is said. The tunes play only when you tap, and the Reading Access sound switch turns them off.

The Honest Page

Which parts of this story are true, stretched or made up?

True

  • A patch three squares by three has nine squares inside, but twelve lengths round its edge.
  • The distance round the edge of a shape is called its perimeter; the space inside is its area. They are different counts. Source

Stretched

  • A fence of short sticks keeps the hens in. What we simplified: Real hens can hop over a low fence; a real hen run needs a taller one.

Made up

  • The hens' patch is made up. Tila comes from PatchPals, Fence from ArrayPals, and Bà Tư from VanTots.

Tell it back

Tell the story to a toy, or to a grown-up. When you have, the grown-up taps the button, and a paper patch of nine squares with twelve little sticks round the edge goes on your belt.

Ring the hammer for someone

Pick this book for someone younger. The link carries only the book, and it will wait for them on the Green.

Across the Table → For the grown-up: the story in three lines, one question to ask, and one thing to do together.