TANGRAMS
This is a traditional Chinese puzzle created by cutting a square into 7 different pieces - all of which are made up of a multiple of the smallest unit, a triangle. You can create thousands of images that our brains translate into a known form by arranging the pieces to make silhouettes(sound familiar?). The fun is in creating your own silhouettes, and in solving the puzzle by replicating someone else's silhouette using only the outline as a guide. If you're a math geek, you've almost certainly encountered this entertainment. If you're a quilter, you've probably seen blocks that are tangrams and not realized it. I think there is a lot of treasure here to be mined by the curious and the creative alike.
I was taught to work tangrams by placing the large pieces first(the large triangles), then work my way down the sizes, medium triangle, rhomboid, square, placing the two small triangles last. It sounds so simple. But it isn't always. I think there are many benefits to working puzzles and tangrams - the brain needs excercise just as much as our muscles do. Puzzles are the aerobics of the brain! If you've never tried one, you should buy a cheap used book, grab a piece of posterboard and cut a square, then mark off the seven pieces(all the books provide some sort of diagram of the tans), and make your tans. It's a very cheap way to discover something you'll love.
Anyone with more information to share, corrections to make, or has books and magazines to donate or sell, can contact me
through My Contact Page.
Pix
Bibliography Entries
Here's Looking at Euclid: From Counting Ants to Games of Chance, an Awe-Inspiring Journey Through the World of Numbers, by Alex Bellos (TPB:2011)
Notes: 336 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Free Press, NY; ISBN: 1416588280;
MindWare: Tan-Tastic Tangrams: Creative Thinking Comes in Many Shapes, by Evelyn B. Christensen (TPB:2003)
Notes: 48 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: MindWare, ???; ISBN: 1892069687;
TANGRAM Magnetic Puzzle-a-Day 2004 Calendar, by Alex Bellos (CAL:2003)
Notes: 300 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Accord Publishing Ltd., Denver, CO; ISBN: 1579391516;
TANGRAM Magnetic Puzzle-a-Day 2005 Calendar, by Alex Bellos (CAL:2004)
Notes: 300 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Accord Publishing Ltd., Denver, CO; ISBN: 1579391907;
TANGRAM Magnetic Puzzle-a-Day 2006 Calendar, by Alex Bellos (CAL:2005)
Notes: 320 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Accord Publishing Ltd., Denver, CO; ISBN: 1579392202;
TANGRAM Magnetic Puzzle-a-Day 2007 Calendar, by Alex Bellos (CAL:2006)
Notes: 320 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Accord Publishing Ltd., Denver, CO; ISBN: 157939****;
TANGRAM Magnetic Puzzle-a-Day 2008 Calendar, by Alex Bellos (CAL:2007)
Notes: 320 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Accord Publishing Ltd., Denver, CO; ISBN: 1579393438;
TANGRAM Magnetic Puzzle-a-Day 2009 Calendar, by Alex Bellos (CAL:2008)
Notes: 320 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Accord Publishing Ltd., Denver, CO; ISBN: 0740771752;
TANGRAM Magnetic Puzzle-a-Day 2010 Calendar, by Alex Bellos (CAL:2009)
Notes: 320 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Accord Publishing Ltd., Denver, CO; ISBN: 0740783998;
Tangram Puzzles: 500 Tricky Shapes to Confound & Astound, by Chris Crawford (TPB:2002)
Notes: 96 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Sterling Publishing, NY; ISBN: 080697589X;
The Tangrams Book Pack, by Randy Crawford (KIT:****)
Notes: 72 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Tuttle Publishing, Rutland, VT; ISBN: 0804832099;
Contains two tangram sets and a book with 500 puzzles
Moving On with Tangrams, by Creative Publications (HC:1988)
Notes: 120 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Creative Publications; ISBN: 0884886719;
CRICKET'S TANGRAMS: Hours of Fun with Challenging Chinese Puzzles, by Cricket Magazine (TPB:1977)
Notes: 63 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Random House, NY; ISBN: 0394835441;
There should be two complete cut-out tangrams on the inside back cover of this book...
Super Source for Tangrams, Grades K-2, by Cuisenaire Publications (TPB:****)
Notes: ?? pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Cuisenaire Publications; ISBN: 1574520156;
Super Source for Tangrams, Grades 3-4, by Cuisenaire Publications (TPB:1996)
Notes: ?? pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Cuisenaire Publications; ISBN: 1574520164;
Super Source for Tangrams, Grades 5-6, by Cuisenaire Publications (TPB:1996)
Notes: ?? pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Cuisenaire Publications; ISBN: 1574520172;
Tangram Tales: Story Theater Using the Ancient Chinese Puzzle, by Dianne de las Casas (TPB:2008)
Notes: 136 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Libraries Unlimited; ISBN: 1591586526;
Fractions with Tangrams, by Larry Ecklund (HC:****)
Notes: 60 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Creative Teaching Associates, ???; ISBN: 1878669540;
TANGRAM: 1,600 Ancient Chinese Puzzles, by Joost Elffers, Michael Schuyt (KIT:1997)
Notes: 213 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Barnes & Noble, Inc., NY; ISBN: 0760727120;
Shapes with Tangrams, by David J. Fletcher (TPB:****)
Notes: 48 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: G. Chapman, ???; ISBN: 0225489376;
The Master Revealed- A Journey with Tangrams, by Barbara E. Ford (TPB:1990)
Notes: 118 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Tandora's Box Press, ???; ISBN: 0962733784;
Tangrams: The Magnificent Seven Piece Puzzle, by Barbara E. Ford (TPB:19**)
Notes: 64 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Tandora's Box Press, ???; ISBN: 0962733776;
Delightful Illusions with Tangrams, by Dr. T.E. Foster (TPB:2007)
Notes: 52 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: BookSurge Publishing, ???; ISBN: 1419675370;
A Tangram Primer, by Dr. T.E. Foster (TPB:2009)
Notes: 72 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: BookSurge Publishing, ???; ISBN: 1439218897;
Math Discoveries with Tangrams, Grades 2-3, by Judy Goodnow (TPB:****)
Notes: ?? pages; Country: USA; Publisher: C&T Publishing, Martinez, CA; ISBN: 1564510751;
Geometry and Fractions with Tangrams, by Barbara Bando Irvin (TPB:****)
Notes: 63 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Learning Resources, Inc., ???; ISBN: 1569119724;
The Fun with Tangrams Kit: 120 Puzzles with Two Complete Sets of Tangram Pieces, by Susan Johnston (TPB:1977)
Notes: 32 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, NY; ISBN: 0486234363;
Tangrams ABC Kit, by Susan Johnston (TPB:1979)
Notes: 32 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, NY; ISBN: 0486238539;
122 Tangram puzzles
Christmas Tangrams: 9(Shape Activity in the Classroom), by Dave Kirkby (TPB:****)
Notes: 12 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Eigen Publications, ???; ISBN: 1850390886;
The Sage's Journey: The Story of Tangrams, by John L. Lehet (TPB:****)
Notes: 55 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Mathmaverick Press, ???; ISBN: 1892510006;
The Eighth Book of Tan(aka Sam Loyd's Book of Tangrams), by Sam Loyd (TPB:1979)
Notes: 61 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, NY; ISBN: 0486220117;
700 Tangrams and solutions
Sam Loyd's Book of Tangrams, by Sam Loyd (TPB:2007)
Notes: 64 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, NY; ISBN: 048645424X;
700 Tangrams and solutions
My Tangrams, by Ned Ludd (TPB:2013)
Notes: 34 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Self, ???; ISBN: 149276762X;
The Tangrams Box: Shape Puzzles to Stretch Your Brain!, by James Lyon (KIT:2012)
Notes: 224 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Thunder Bay Press, San Francisco, CA; ISBN: 1607103060;
Tangramables, by Judi Martschinke (TPB:1990)
Notes: ?? pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Learning Resources, ???; ISBN: None;
300 Tangrams Puzzle Book, by Julian Melhuish (HC:1995)
Notes: 96 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Lagoon Books, ???; ISBN: 1899712070;
TANGRAMS, by John Millington (TPB:****)
Notes: 32 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Tarquin, ???; ISBN: 0906212561;
3D Tangrams, by MindWare (COMB:****)
Notes: 147 pages; Country: USA; Publisher: MindWare, ???; ISBN: 1892069709;
TANGRAMS, by Mud Puddle Books (TPB:****)
Notes: ?? pages; Country: USA; Publisher: Mud Puddle Books, ???; ISBN: 1594120625;
