The Quest for a Tangram Dragon

In this collaboration-focused guide to the Chinese tangram puzzle, Liu-Perkins and Scurfield introduce seven shapes on a mission to end a drought. Across a wilted landscape, rendered in fluidly lined acrylic ink and paint as well as charcoal, sky-blue Little Triangle sets off in search of a kind dragon to help bring rain. The shape shows off its limited solo talents before encountering other shapes with which to create new forms. It combines with an orange triangle to take flight as a butterfly; when a square joins the party, they combine to form a bat. Gaining other geometric friends along the way, the crew “angled, tangled, and wrangled” themselves into various animals until reaching a steep mountain. After seemingly endless configurations, they’re close to giving up—until one more idea brings about a solution. Offering narrative life to an age-old puzzle, the creators introduce geometric thinking while sparking creativity and underlining themes of teamwork and perseverance. An author’s note and more about tangrams concludes. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)