Book Description
It's endless fun! Opening this beautiful 2-color, lie-flat hardcover spiral book is like unlocking a treasure chest filled with puzzles and creative activities. Begin by taking the seven high-quality wooden tans (NOT cheap and sharp plastic)out of the resealable case bound sturdily inside. Now, you're ready to play--and to solve up to 500 mysterious tangram puzzles, using the seven simple shapes that can be put together again and again in countless figures and forms. Sometimes they're easily solved; other times, the puzzles are baffling. Decide just how hard you want a game to be! Set the clock and challenge your friends to a race, or do these brain stumpers on your own by arranging the pieces so they all touch, lie flat, or don't overlap. Make two separate shapes from a single set. If you happen to feel artistic, tell a story with the tangrams or create beautiful silhouettes for pure pleasure. One thing is for sure: you'll always find this ancient test-of-wits enjoyable, fascinating, and perplexing.
Customer Reviews:
A great exercise for brain, being fun at the same time.......2007-04-07
A very nicely made product - the wooden pieces are very smooth without any splinters or sharp edges. The puzzles are awesome - during my pass-time, I try making these - some take a few minutes to solve, but some could take a few hours. It is so interesting that my daughter was trying to put together some when she was 4. You have 501, not 500 puzzles, because you have to arrange them to form a square to put them back in the packing pouch. Some of the puzzles are un-imaginable - I could not believe that you could make many of the shapes with the wooden pieces provided. The author/creator should be honored for his creativity.
I recommend this to anyone from 4 to 100+ years old - You are never too young to start training your brain, and never too old to stop. I would have bought it even if it cost twice of what it costs now.
Fun for your brain.......2007-01-05
I use this tangram puzzle with my junior high school students. The shapes are challenging, and offer great visual/spatial exercise for young minds. The book is big and has lots of puzzles to choose from. The puzzle pieces are nice too.
Good Educational Toy.......2006-07-19
This Tangram set and book are very good quality. Tangrams are excellent learning tools for spatial understanding and problem solving. Because of the nature of this toy, it is much more versatile than regular puzzles. The same pieces are used over and over to solve the many different 'puzzles' which are presented in the book. (The solutions are also given at the back of the book.)
I have only one criticism of this product. I wish it came with a container for the pieces.
good blocks & puzzles, but not set up well for a game.......2005-05-30
The blocks are sanded wood with smooth corners, so they're nice to work with, and assembled into a square are about 4" x 4". Be aware that each book comes with one set of blocks, so if two people want to compete, you'll need to purchase two books or somehow come up with a second set of blocks.
The spiral binding makes it easy to prop the book open to any page, but there are about 18 tangrams shown per page, so it's too easy to "cheat" and compare the image you're currently working on to previous/subsequent ones. It would be more challenging if you could only see one tangram at a time.
A must have game!.......2004-09-22
My older son's piano teacher has a set of puzzle in his studio. All the kids are fascinated by playing with it, including my 3-year-old younger son. Even though it's for 8 and order, it appears that all ages enjoy this game trenmendeously. It's a great game to have at home and also a great gift for other kids.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful!.......2001-10-29
A pig, two pigs, three... We all know about this story.
Here we are not only a wolf but also a tangram!
A wonderful idea!
The tangram is here to help the pigs.
The pig that success the best to use this tangram
will be the winner and will have many children!
The addition of the tangram made more attractive
this beautiful story. My children (4 and 7) are delighted:
they help me very well. The figures (duck, cat, rabbit,
candle,swan, house and boat) are relatively easy to make.
un tangram bien employé.......2000-06-27
Un cochon, deux cochons, trois.... Nous connaissons tous cette histoire. Ici nous avons en plus du loup, aussi un tangram! Très bonne idée! Le tangram est là pour aider les cochons. Le cochon qui réussira le mieux à utiliser le tangram sortira gagnant et aura beaucoup d'enfants! L'AJOUT DU TANGRAM N'A FAIT QU'EMBELLIR CETTE BELLE HISTOIRE. Mes enfants sont ravis et ont pu activement participer à l'histoire. Les figures (canard, chat, lapin, bougie, cygne, maison et bateau) sont relativement faciles à réaliser.
An Excellent Introduction.......2000-05-08
This book is an excellent introduction to tangrams and geometric shapes for young children. The reader learns the names of the geometric shapes as well as seeing several pictures made from tangrams as part of the story. The book includes a set of cardboard tangrams so the reader can replicate the shapes in the book (such as a boat, bunny, cat) and also make up new ones. Good suggestions are included for parents and teachers on how to use the materials for students at different ability levels.
Book Description
With its exquisite photographs and richly informative text, this is simply the best, the most unique, and the most in-depth study of the ancient and popular Chinese puzzle game.
This first truly comprehensive and beautiful volume on one of the world’s most popular and intriguing puzzles is an authoritative, lavishly photographed history of tangrams, and also a masterful introduction to puzzle solving, with more than 2,000 all-time tangrams. This accurate history of the classic Chinese art form comes from a tangram museum owner and his research team, who discovered many treasures, such as the tangram sets used by Chinese mathematicians 2,200 years ago to test Pythagorean theorems. Photos show how to arrange tangram-shaped antique dinner tables for a variety of themes such as mountain ranges and celebration costumes. Among the puzzles for you to solve: Paradoxical Pairs that appear to be identical but differ in a hard-to-detect detail.
Customer Reviews:
Tantalizing.......2004-12-28
This is a thoroughly researched book on the history of tangrams - written as a telling of the team's search through materials. This telling shows that they approached discovering the true history of tangrams in the same manner they would approach any other puzzle. The result is a book that is "a fun read."
However, frequently the book left me wanting more. For example, it mentions and describes to varying degrees related puzzles - stomachian, Japanese 15 and 19 piece sets, Chinese butterfly wing tables (7 and 13 piece), Russian 12 piece set, French 16 piece set ... Piece shapes and sample puzzles are not given for all of these. Samples of beautiful pictoral sets of faces, buildings ... are given leaving me wanting even more samples and frustrated at the occasionally overlapping pictures or small size. Finally, the book gives as puzzles about 40% of the puzzles identified in their research; yet no clue is given for the criteria of selection.
However, any book that leaves the reader wanting more is a success. This book of tangrams should leave you busy for several years (if you don't cheat and use the answers).
Best tangram book ever!.......2004-12-10
I have lots of tangram books, but the well-illustrated history in this was one of the funnest and most amazing and thought-provoking things I have ever read.
The collection puzzles in the back, where the first known published source of each puzzle is given, is incredibly comprehensive - enough to keep me busy for years! Still, it is mentioned that the authors have found in their research over 5,000 (!) unique sillouettes - more than twice as many as they publish in this year... one wonders if they plan to come out with an encyclopedic collection of ALL of these sillouettes any time soon. I do hope so.
I am terribly grateful for this wonderful work.
And I thought I knew something about Tangrams..........2004-01-07
I have been solving Tangrams for over 50 years and have amassed a modest collection of Tangrams and books about Tangrams.However,until I found this book,I didn't realize how little I knew about them or how modest my little collection was.Up till now I thought the Penguin publication of Joost Elffers book including 1600 puzzles,plus the packaged set published by Stewart,Tabori & Chang in 1997; the Dover publication of Ronald Read's ;as well as the beautifully packaged sets by Crawford were about all that could be done on the subject.
Not so; Slocum has produced a magnificent book and has created the new definitive book on Tangrams.
I used to think there might be as many as 3000 possible problems.Slocum informs that Harold Raizer studied 104 books and card sets and of the more than 20,000 problems found 5900 different problems published before 1926.
Slocum has covered all the history and separated fact from fiction.He has reviewed all the major publications produced worldwide and included many photographs that nobody could possibly see without visiting museums and private collections around the world.His Bibliography and References is simply amazing with about 250 entries.
On top of that he has given us 1756 problems to work on as well as providing the solutions.Even here ,he hs done a superb job of selecting these promlems from the landmark books published over the years.
The high quality of the printing,color rendering and overall construction mirrors the high quality of the content of the book.
The title "The Tangram Book" tells it all;that's what this book will become.
On behalf of Puzzle lovers,and particulary Tangram lovers,I would like to congratulate Jerry Slocum and Sterling on their brilliant effort.
Complete history and lots of problems.......2003-09-13
A tangram puzzle is one where you take a specific set of seven wooden pieces (called the tans) and put them together to construct a figure. The rules of construction are simple:
*All seven pieces must be used.
*The pieces cannot overlap.
*The constructed figure must exactly match the desired figure.
These puzzles have a long, and sometimes inaccurately rendered history. It has been said that Napoleon Bonaparte whiled away the hours by constructing tangram figures.
Slocum has spent a great deal of time and effort in determining the true history of the tangram puzzles, and the first ninety nine pages are devoted to the history of the tangram. Originally invented in China, it moved out into the world as the Europeans constructed their empires. For some time in the early nineteenth century, there was a tangram craze in Europe, and the book displays cartoons depicting people neglecting their spouses, children and other relationships while they attempt to solve tangram puzzles. This history is thorough and quite unique, demonstrating the powerful human need for quality, mind-stretching entertainment.
The remainder of the book is a collection of over 2,000 tangram puzzles, with solutions. These problems have been culled from books of problems that have been published in the last two hundred years. Unless you have a phenomenal flair for these puzzles, you could spend the greater part of your life immersed in them. Everything from a sailboat to a waiter carrying a tray can be constructed from tangrams.
There are no doubt tangram problems that do not appear in this collection, so it is not possible to consider it complete. Nevertheless, the number and range of problems makes this the authoritative work on tangrams and one that everyone interested in puzzles should read. Furthermore, they make an excellent tool for the teaching of basic geometry and spatial relationships.
Published in the recreational mathematics e-mail newsletter, reprinted with permission.
THE Tangram book to have!.......2003-07-04
Jerry Slocum and his team have done a fantastic job of pulling ALL the available known information about the Tangram puzzle into one gorgeous book. The research is extensive, the illustrations are plentiful and the pictures are supurb. This is a must-have for anyone interested in this classic seven piece puzzle that has intrigued puzzlers for hundreds of years.
Book Description
Selection of best Oriental, American problems; figures built up out of standard geometric pieces. Pagodas, cats, people, bridges, etc. Solutions.
Customer Reviews:
lots of tangrams to play with.......2007-08-07
The tangrams themselves all have to be enlarged in order for my students to use them but I do that in Photoshop and it is working fine. I like that all the answers are there as well. Lots to pick from.
a lovely book for tangram's lovers.......2001-11-10
This book have 334 pages and it is very complete.
The introduction is very instructive.
There are 11 parts: Letters and numbers, Animals (tangram zoo, cats, dogs, birds, horses, bats, sea creatures...) Mankind (servants, Sam Loyd's portrait gallery, horsemen, medieval ladies...), around the house (watering can, baby carriages, stocking, pistol..), boat and bridges, stories and pictures (the house that jack built, the story of cinderella, a game of billard, the orchestra), a little mathematics (! ), chinoiseries (some chinese characters, dagger, raincot, "drinkink alone"), paradoxes and illusions, double tangrams (rocket, coach, sport car, television set, lion..) et the fifteen-piece puzzle (a pavillon in the moolight, a man asleep in a drifting boat..).
The solutions are given in the back of the book. The illustrations and the explanations are very clear. The author wrote a book really complete about tangram
Tout sur le tangram!.......2000-07-02
Ce livre de 334 pages est vraiment complet. Il a une introduction très instructive. Il est divisé en onze parties: Letters and numbers, Animals (tangram zoo, cats, dogs, birds, horses, bats, sea creatures...) Mankind (shoeshine boy and customer, acrobats, medieval ladies...), around the house (pipe, shoes, chairs, pistol..), boat and bridges, stories and pictures (the house that jack built, the story of cinderella, a game of billard, the orchestra), a little mathematics (! ), chinoiseries (some chinese characters, "Buddha hand"...), paradoxes and illusions, double tangrams (house, cyclist, sport car, telescope, microscope..) et the fifteen-piece puzzle (a pavillon in the moolight, a man asleep in a drifting boat..). Les solutions sont données à la fin du livre. Les illustrations et les explications sont très claires. L'auteur a écrit un livre vraiment complet sur les tangrams.
Book Description
Legend has it that one thousand years ago, a man dropped a porcelain tile. It broke into seven pieces five triangles, one square, and one parallelogram. When he tried to reassemble the square, he discovered he could create hundreds of different images from just those seven pieces.
Tangram Magician brings this ancient Chinese puzzle to the children and grown-ups of today. As the work of the magician unfolds, the reader can make the designs using the seven puzzle pieces provided along with the book. The dense-foam puzzle comes in a reusable plastic storage box artfully inset into the diecut cover. And when the story is done, there are hours of additional fun creating your own designs.
Simple enough for a six-year-old, sophisticated enough for a sixty-year-old.
Customer Reviews:
Great teaching tool.......2007-04-22
This is a fabulous tool for teaching kids to use tangrams! The book leaves room to have the kids use thier imagination to make their own tangrams. We have used this in our class and made our own tangram books from this one - the kids love it.
Book Description
In China, a beautiful ceramic tile lies shattered on the ground, and the artist who dropped it is sentenced to the land's worst punishment. The fierce warlord will execute the artist unless some wise person can put the seven pieces back together. That person will then be invited to live in the castle. Both locals and strangers from far away wait their turns for a chance to solve the warlord's puzzle.
After learning why these people are waiting to enter the castle, a peasant boy convinces his poor but wise father to join the line. This little boy starts them off on the first step to solving the puzzle-entering the contest.
Customer Reviews:
Tells of a fierce warlord in China.......2002-08-05
Fine color drawings by Nicholas Debon bring the Chinese topics to life. Warlord's Puzzle tells of a fierce warlord in China who receives a ceramic tile as a gift, but sentences the man to punishment when it's shattered. The artist poses an unusual contest as the solution for the problem.
Who can solve the Warlord's Puzzle?.......2001-07-28
The Warlordýs Puzzle is a traditional Chinese tale that proves you do not have to have money or power to have intelligence. An artist gives a warlord a gift of a blue tile, and then drops it on the ground and breaks it into seven pieces. A contest is held that will reward anyone who can fix the tile, and the one who ends up solving the problem will surprise readers. The book has a mathematical twist because the pieces break in the shape of a tangram puzzle.
The author has found many ways to capture the interest of readers in this unique story. First, the characters of the book come alive through the beautiful pictures. Each page is rich in color and shows the emotions of the characters throughout the story. The words on each page are also arranged in unique ways to help give emphasis to the text and interest readers. Some of the phrasing of the sentences is difficult for young readers to understand, so some explanations may need to be given while reading. Overall, this is a very interesting and creative book that could lead into many different types of discussions.
Delightful, gorgeously illustrated picturebook story........2000-09-19
A Chinese warlord receives a ceramic tile as a gift and promptly sentences the artist who made it to death when the title is shattered into seven pieces. The desperate artist proposes that a contest be held. Whoever is clever enough to put the tile fragments back together will be asked to live in the warlord's palace -- and his own life would be spared. After an enormous multitude of people fail at the task, a little peasant boy figures out a novel and unexpected solution. Virginia Pilegard's The Warlord's Puzzle is a delightful, highly recommended picturebook story that is gorgeously illustrated with the full color, museum quality artwork of Nicholas Debon.
Great across-the-curriculum math resource w/ gorgeous art.......2000-07-19
I can highly recommend this book to parents and teachers. It's well-written with characters that come alive through some of the nicest children's book art work I've seen this year.
We used the tanagram puzzle pattern at the end of the book, and went on to make up our own, too. I think it's an excellent introduction to geometry.
Plus we talked about ancient China vs. China today.
You hear a lot about "math across the curriculum" and this book is such a great example of how that can work well for kids.
Outside of the classroom, my son wants to read this book at bedtime, too!
A new twist on an ancient puzzle.......2000-05-06
Do you enjoy working tangram puzzles? Have you "hooked" your child on them? We've been working with a puzzle thousands of years old. This is precisely what the author and illustrator of The Warlord's Puzzle team up to present to the reader.
The author chose the use of the mathematical terms - parallelogram, square and triangles - in describing the shattered tile. The solution of the puzzle includes visualization, imagination, and determination.
The author and illustrator combine to create vivid images of that ancient Chinese time period. One senses the cruelty of the warlord, as well as the timidity of the people in approaching him. The illustrations are striking. They depict the culture, customs, and costumes of the time period.
Elementary teachers and those teaching mathematics - add this one to your collection!
Book Description
Seven pieces make up the ancient Chinese puzzle, tangrams. By way of art and poetry, this book showcases one artist's creative endeavors using tangrams as a design tool. You will not only see breathtaking original color designs, but you will be invited to recreate her designs and to use your imagination to make your own pictures of animals, people, fish, birds and more.
A punch out set of tangrams is included.
Customer Reviews:
Very interesting.......2001-10-29
The book are 32 pages. We learn to make birds, cats, a zoo, people, boats, fisches..
In drawer, you will find four tangrams: two squares (one black
and the other multicoloured), one egg and an heart.
In page 24 and 25 there are figures with the tangram egg
and in page 26 and 27 figures with the tangram heart.
You will find the solutions at the end of the book.
This is fun for kids that don't think that tangram is
a serious game!
Book Description
A delightful tangram-illustrated story about Tan, a workman at the Emperor's palace, who drops the tile that breaks into seven pieces, thus, creating tangrams. His journey, designs, inspiration, findings, and many other ways to play with tangrams is an absolute must for tangram enthusiasts!
Contains over 475 original puzzles and includes solutions.
Customer Reviews:
nice little story and more.......2006-02-19
The Master Revealed is a short fiction about how father Tan discovers the Tangram puzzle, how he teaches it to his daughter and how the whole village caught the Tangram feaver.
A nice little story, illustrated with a collection of tangram shapes. The second part of the book features Tan's notebook with 475 original shapes to solve.
This is a really nice book to buy if you are a Tangram freak. It makes a nice addition to the classic reference "The Tangram Book" by Jerry Slocum.
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Books Index
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Tangrams: 330 Puzzles
Fun with Tangrams Kit (Entertain with Mind-Boggling Puzzles Big Books for Hours of)
Grandfather Tang's Story (Dragonfly Books)
Tangrams: The Magnificent Seven Piece Puzzle
Tangram Magician
