The Royal Treasure Measure

Math Is Fun!

by Trudy Harris, Ivica Stevanović (Illustrator)

King Balbazar's kingdom has made a mess of measuring. Curtains are too long, robes are too short, and no one knows how to solve the problem. People measure length with everything from candlesticks to sausages to spoons. Finally, King Balbazar holds a contest. Who will come up with the winning unit of measurement―and what will it be?

Genres: Picture Books, Mathematics, Childrens, Humor, Stem, Royalty

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Trudy Harris, RN, is the New York Times bestselling author of Glimpses of Heaven and More Glimpses of Heaven, a former hospice nurse, and former president of the Hospice Foundation for Caring. Since retirement, Harris remains active in connecting the need

Reviews

[Magpie67 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful look at a way to measure correctly. Math, not my favorite subject... this title makes math fun and measuring things can really get the math noggin working. Make math fun is something I totally agree and support. Maybe those who struggle can see math in a new light. Historical knowledge at the end about the beginnings of measuring by the foot.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

In King Balbazar's country, "the people had to measure in strange ways because there were no yardsticks or rulers in those days." They tried spoons, candles and sausages, but nothing works. So, the king decides to create a puzzle that will help them find a consistent measure throughout the kingdom.

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could make a fantastic read aloud for a 3-6 math teacher/math lesson involving a measurement unit/lesson. The story tells a fun story of how the ruler/foot came to be.

If you are a teacher in upper elementary, most definitely check this one out.

[Ann]

Goldfinch Nominee 2018-2019

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good way to get kids thinking about measurement.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute rhyming story about a kingdom where people use different objects to measure...spoons, pickles, and whatever else is handy. But this doesn't work out so well. The queen's drapes are too long. Another man's door is too small. So the king decides to hold a challenge to create a standard form of measurement. The winner will get his daughter's hand in marriage and so she becomes the judge. When a young man sees her and falls in love even though she is dressed as a commoner, she knows he is the winner of the contest and that they should use his foot as a measurement... and she decides to create a ruler that is the length of his foot for all to measure with.

I've read similar stories such as How Big Is a Foot?. I appreciated the humor and the illustrations in this one. Both are great tools to show kids the need for a standard system of measurement and to introduce a unit on customary measurement.

[Bookandahug · Rating 3 out of 5]

A humorously elegant King Balbazar and his queen have realized they have a problem in their kingdom. The roofers, and the house builders and the tailors need to measure to do their jobs well and they don't have yardsticks yet. The drapes are measured to be ten spoons long and the doorways are fourteen sausages high.

King Balbazar wants to retire and turn the kingdom over to his daughter the princess and her future husband. They create a riddle for the cleverest man to solve and as his prize he will win the hand of the lovely Princess Star. Hilarity ensues.

Rowboats and cattle and goats and pickles all become measuring tools. The illustrations are delightful with every face, be it cow or peasant, designed to entertain. These folk are all unwitting comedians and the princess has some ideas all her own. Great read aloud and wonderful tie in for math and measurement.

I'd give this one 3 1/2 stars.

[babyhippoface · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story in fairy tale fashion that tells the story of how the foot came to be the standard measure of distance. While the story is funny and isn't true, it's based on truth, as it was the practice in some countries to base the unit of measure upon the length of the king's foot. In those countries the standard would change with the change of monarchs to reflect the length of the new king's foot. Pretty interesting.

This would be fun to use in a class on measurement. Read it, and ask the kids how they think that would work, basing standards on the king's foot length. Then have them do some research on countries that used that rule as their standard. Could provide some interesting discoveries!

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A kingdom struggles with measurement using items as varied as sausages, candles, and goats to communicate size and distance. Fed up, the king holds a contest to determine the official unit of measurement and promises his daughter's hand in marriage as the prize. One young commoner uses his feet to find the treasure and wins!

A "foot note" follows the story and explains the origin of standard measurement. The artwork is kind of strange, but I can see this story being useful in the classroom when introducing a unit on measurement. It's lighthearted enough to make a fun read aloud, but still manages to show the problems with trying to measure things without using a standardized system.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

King Balbazar's kingdom has a measuring problem -- everyone uses different and arbitrary units of measurement. Spoons for measuring drapes, sausages for measuring doors. Finally, the king decides to hold a contest to establish a standard unit of measurement. He offers up his daughter's hand in marriage and, despite her initial reluctance, agrees to marry the winner of the contest.

A cute rhyming story great for kids in 1st and 2nd grade. A quick and easy read aloud to use as part of a unit on measurement. Kids are sure to like the dialog bubbles and the rhyming text is simple and fun.

[Lyndsey Hurm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really cute and entertaining book! The illustrations are funny and cute! I would use this in my classroom to teach measurement... The King in the story uses non-standard units to measure things throughout the castle. The Princess in this story also creates a riddle so you could also use this book to teach about riddles and have the students make some riddles up of their own and give to their classmates.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture books for use in the math curriculum are few and far between. Trudy Harris, author and kindergarten teacher, recognized this lack and has written several math concept books. Her latest is a fictional account of how the foot was established as a unit of measurement. An author's note explains the little that is known regarding the development of that standard.

[Harla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good almost non-fiction picture book...if there is such a thing. Hopefully it will make children think about how measuring began. I liked this one alot. Plus the illustrations are good as well.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

King devises scheme to get his subjects to measure up.

[Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kind of missed what was happening in the middle part, but didn't care enough to re-read it. Interesting info on the "foot" measurement.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read-aloud to introduce measurement.

[Joella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is a fictional story about how the "foot" came to be a standard of measurement.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

hilarious pictures and good introduction to standard measuring. little longish.