Read, Count, Play – Every Child, Every Day!

Little Jojo’s Long Tall Tale

by

Illustrated by

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“I have a very big problem,” cried Chief Short and Round in a loud voice. “Everyone, come here! I have a very big problem.”

The people of the Village of Many Shapes formed a big circle around Chief Short and Round. They wanted to hear what he had to say.

  1. A polygon is a shape with several straight sides. Triangles have 3 sides, quadrilaterals have 4, pentagons have 5, and hexagons have 6. Name some polygons where you are.
  2. What are some of the shapes of the buildings in this picture?
  3. There are snowflakes in the sky on a sunny day on this page. Have you ever seen this?
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Chief Short and Round began, “This is the worst news ever. I have lost my spring horn.” The villagers whispered to each other, “Oh no!” Chief Short and Round continued talking, “If I don’t find my spring horn then I can’t blow my spring horn! And we can’t start the springtime party if I can’t blow my spring horn. And spring won’t come if we don’t have a springtime party.”

  1. Many of these people have very colorful clothes. What are your favorite colors to wear to a party?
  2. Have you ever looked forward to a party and then worried that it might not happen?
  3. There are many beautiful polygons on these clothes! There are patterns with squares (polygons with four equal sides and four square corners), and some with hexagons. Notice how the hexagons on the back of the shirt are made of six triangles in a lively pattern!
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Little Square Jojo stepped into the circle and lifted up his hand. “I will find your spring horn, Chief Short and Round.” “Good, good,” said the chief with a smile. “You can start looking in the last place I visited this morning. Go to Tata Rectangle’s house. I remember having my horn with me there.”

  1. Why does Little Square Jojo deserve his name?
  2. There are many circles in this picture. How many circles can you find?
  3. How many squares are there on Jojo’s clothes? That is a very tricky question because there are squares of different sizes on his clothes – some of the squares are made up of smaller squares!
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Tata Rectangle was happy to see Jojo. He opened his door and welcomed Jojo inside. “I remember seeing Chief Short and Round earlier this morning,” said Tata Rectangle, “but I don’t think he had his spring horn with him.” Little Square Jojo looked under Tata Rectangle’s bed and behind his books. He even looked into his fridge. But Jojo couldn’t find the spring horn anywhere.

  1. A rectangle has four straight sides with corners like the corners of this page. A square is always a rectangle, but rectangles are not always squares. What would make a rectangle not be a square?
  2. Are there any rectangles that are squares in this picture?
  3. Which objects in this room are rectangles? There are rectangles everywhere on this page! Point to as many rectangles as you can.
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“Go and see if Mama Triangle has the spring horn,” said Tata Rectangle. “Chief Short and Round visited her before he came to see me.” “Thank you, Tata,” said Jojo as he waved goodbye.

Mama Triangle’s house is about three kilometers from here, thought Jojo. That is a far distance to walk. I will stop at my house along the way and have a rest.

  1. What are the tallest things in this picture? Have you ever seen a person almost as tall as a house?
  2. Jojo is going for a long 3km (about two miles) walk. What is the farthest you have ever walked?
  3. Did you ever walk a long, long time? How many minutes was that walk? 10? 20? 60? more?
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Little Square Jojo was hot and tired by the time he reached his house. He went inside to open his freezer and pour a glass of cold water with ice blocks. “I must be half the way to Mama Triangle’s house,” he said. “I hope she has the chief’s horn.”

Then Jojo had an idea. “I can visit Dudu Diamond. Her house is only half a kilometer from here and it’s on the way.

  1. On this floor, you can hop from one square to another square of the same color. Choose one color with your finger and hop around that room.
  2. Do you have a pattern on the floor where you are? Do you ever hop around a room trying to stay on just one color?
  3. Jojo has walked half way of his 3 km (2 mi) walk. How far has he walked?
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Dudu Diamond was cleaning her house when Jojo arrived. Her earrings were making a lovely tinkling sound as she worked. “Hello, Jojo,” she said. “What are you doing today?” “I am on my way to Mama Triangle’s house to find the chief’s spring horn,” said Little Square Jojo. “That’s nice of you,” said Dudu. “I am happy to come with you. How much further do you have to go?”

  1. Another name for a diamond is a rhombus. A rhombus is a quadrilateral with four equal sides. A square is always a rhombus, but not every rhombus is a square. Point to some diamonds in this picture that aren’t squares.
  2. This room is full of diamond shapes. What shape are the diamond windows if you turn them on their side? Jojo should feel right at home with those windows!
  3. This room has many pairs of things. Which pairs do you see?
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Little Square Jojo scratched his head. “Let’s see. Mama Triangle’s house was three kilometers away from where I started. I walked about half the way to get to my house, that’s one and a half kilometers. Then I walked another half a kilometer to get to your house. That makes 2 kilometers. So we only have one more kilometer to go!” “That’s not so far then!” smiled Dudu. “I’ll pack some things to take with.”

  1. Jojo added 1 1/2 km plus 1/2 km to get 2 km. He subtracted 2 km from 3 km to get 1 km.
  2. Another way is: He had 1 1/2 km to go and he walked 1/2 km, so there was only 1 km left.
  3. Yet another way: Think of 3 km as 6 half kms. When he did half of 6 of those, that meant he did 3 halves and had 3 halves to go. When he did another half km, then he only had 2 halves left. It’s a fun puzzle to find different ways to calculate the same thing!
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Dudu Diamond and Little Square Jojo walked until they reached the bottom of a tall mountain. “Mama Triangle’s house is right up there at the top,” said Dudu.

“Let’s stop for a while and have a rest. You can have the sandwich I packed.” Jojo cut the sandwich into four smaller pieces. “Here, let’s share the sandwich, you have two pieces and I’ll have two.”

  1. We can’t see the top of the mountain. What do you think the shape is of the part we can’t see?
  2. Think of some different ways to cut a sandwich into four parts. Which shapes can you make that way?
  3. A round shape that comes to a point is called a cone. The mountain next to them is in the shape of a cone. Find some other cones in this picture.
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Soon Dudu Diamond and Little Square Jojo were half the way up the mountain. Things were very different there.

“Look,” said Jojo. “That’s the strangest spider I’ve ever seen.” “Wow,” said Dudu. “It has spun a beautiful web. Let’s count the sides. One, two, three, four, five, and six! That makes it a hexagon then!”

  1. Can you think of any other hexagons you see or know about? Are there any where you are right now? Perhaps there are some hexagons on a bathroom floor?
  2. Do you know any stories or songs about spiders?
  3. Spiders make webs in trees, in holes in the ground, and even across water. Where have you seen spider webs where you live? Why do spiders make webs?
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After climbing over a very big rock, Little Square Jojo and Dudu Diamond finally arrived at Mama Triangle’s house. They were high up now and felt a bit dizzy.

“Hello, you two,” said Mama Triangle with a smile. “I am so happy to have visitors. Most of the time I’m all alone here on the top of my mountain. Come inside and sit down at my table.

  1. Do you think Mama Triangle knows where the Chief’s spring horn is? Do you think they wasted their time coming to the top of the mountain?
  2. There are a great many polygons in this picture and they are of many types. Point at some polygons and name their types.
  3. There are a few shapes that are not polygons. These shapes have at least one side that is curved and not straight. Can you find them?
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“Mama Triangle,” said Jojo after catching his breath, “We’ve come to find Chief Short and Round’s spring horn. Tata Rectangle said that the chief visited you this morning.” “Yes, that is correct,” said Mama Triangle. “The chief came to ask me to help prepare for the springtime party. But he didn’t leave his spring horn here.” “Oh no,” said Jojo sadly, “We’ve come all this way for nothing!”

  1. Do you think they went all that way for nothing? They may not know where the horn is, but they have learned a lot during their travels.
  2. Sometimes, finding out what something can’t be can be almost as valuable as finding out what it is. Useful information comes in many forms!
  3. What do you think will happen next in the story? Create an ending for how this story turns out. Do they find the horn, and if so, how do they find it?
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Mama Triangle held Jojo’s hand as she led him outside. “Don’t worry Jojo,” she said. “Chief Short and Round didn’t leave his spring horn here, but I know where it is. That chief can be such a silly thing!” Mama Triangle, Little Square Jojo and Dudu Diamond all ran down the mountain and in no time at all they were safely at the bottom.

  1. There are a lot of triangles in this picture! Can you count them all, or is it higher than you can count?
  2. Why were they able to go down the mountain so much more quickly than when they went up?
  3. Oddly enough, going down a steep hill can be harder than going up. Has this happened to you?
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It was evening by the time they reached Chief Short and Round’s house. Mama Triangle knocked on the door and when it was opened everyone rushed inside.

“Hello,” said Chief Short and Round, blinking sleepily. “Did you find my spring horn? Will we be able to have the springtime party?” Little Square Jojo felt very bad and shook his head.

  1. The Chief’s room is round and is filled with round things. Point at and count as many circles as you can.
  2. The circles in the rug have the same center. Circles that share a common center are called concentric circles. Do you see any concentric circles where you are?
  3. The Chief is wearing his pajamas. What do you think his bedtime is? What is your bedtime?
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“Jojo looked for your spring horn all day,” said Mama Triangle. “It is not his fault that he didn’t find it. It is your fault, Chief Short and Round. Don’t you remember?” Mama Triangle pointed at the chief. “You are wearing your spring horn on your head!”

Chief Short and Round gasped, “Oh my, I remember it now. I was so hot from climbing up that mountain that I put my horn on my head.”

  1. How do you think the Chief felt when he realized the horn was on his head?
  2. How long in this story has the horn been on his head?
  3. Tell a story about a time when you thought you lost something and then found out it was in an obvious place all along.
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“I am so embarrassed,” said Chief Short and Round as he took his spring horn off his head. Then he passed it to Little Square Jojo. “You have done all the hard work, Jojo. You should blow the horn.”

Little Square Jojo smiled. He lifted up the horn and gave a loud blow. “Now we can have the springtime party!” All was well in the Village of Many Shapes.

  1. Unlike real snowflakes, the snowflakes in this sky come in many, very different shapes. Point to a few and describe them.
  2. Jojo did a great job of problem solving. He thought about the problem, he discussed ideas with others, and he persisted even when he was having trouble solving the problem.
  3. Tell a fun story, real or make believe, of a time when someone was searching all over for something for a long time and then finally found it.

You are free to download, copy, translate or adapt this story and use the illustrations as long as you attribute in the following way:

Little Jojo’s long tall tale
Author — Leo Daly
Illustration — Marleen Visser
Language — English
Level — Read aloud
© African Storybook Initiative 2017
Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0
Source www.africanstorybook.org

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