Math Storytime

Taylor liked being inside, playing video games.
Her mom said, “Come outside for spheres and cones.”
Taylor knew her mom meant baseball and ice cream.

“Later we’ll play cubes, eat from cuboids, and drink from cylinders.”

“Coming.” She knew her mom meant dice games, pizza boxes, and soda cans.
Taylor wondered why her mother spoke so oddly.
“That game is consuming you,” said her mother, heading outside.

“I wish it would,” whispered Taylor.

“Your wish is my command,” said a voice, familiar to Taylor.
Suddenly, something happened...
In front of her stood King Tetrahedron. He had 4 faces!
She was inside the video game!

“Whoaaaa! I’d like to live here!”

“You can,” the king chuckled. “If you help us build a castle of 3D shapes.”

The king clapped and his daughter, Princess Triangular Prism appeared.

She had five faces!

The princess took Taylor’s hand. “Soon, 3D shapes will fly at us. You need to name them correctly to build our castle. Here they come!”

Suddenly, a giant ball bounced towards them.
“Help?” Taylor cried.
“Name the 3D shape!”

“Well, it’s like a baseball. So, it’s a SPHERE!”

The shape turned red and became a part of the castle.

Next, a shape grew from the ground.
“Name it!” called the princess.
“It’s like an ice cream...”
“Name the shape!” the princess repeated.

“CONE!”
The cone turned red and plunked into place.
A pizza box was next. “CUBOID or RECTANGULAR PRISM!”
“Correct!” said the princess.

Taylor felt rain. Except it wasn’t rain... It looked like mini dice!
“Ooo, pretty” said the princess.
“Guess the shape, Taylor!”

“Dice!”
The king hinted, “The shape - look at the faces. The flat parts of the shape are the faces.”
Taylor ducked. “Six square faces!”
“Like dice,” said the princess, “but...”
“CUBES!” Taylor shouted. The shapes joined the castle.

“Yikes!” Soda cans plummeted towards Taylor.
“Triangular prisms?” Taylor said. But instead of turning red, they became green and moved faster.

“How many faces?” called the princess.
“The faces... right... Two circle faces...”
The princess crouched. “... Not triangular prisms... I am a prism!”

Taylor remembered her mother’s words... drink from... “CYLINDERS!” As she named them, they glowed red and joined the others.

The king and daughter cheered. “You’ve built it! Come live with us!”
Taylor admired the 3D shaped castle... but at that moment, she heard a voice.

“Taylor! Come outside!”

She knew the fun she’d have playing spheres, slurping cones, playing cubes, eating from rectangular prisms, and drinking from cylinders too. And she missed her family.

“I like living in my 3D world.”
“Your wish is my command,” said the king.
Taylor hugged her friends goodbye and she found herself in her very own... backyard!

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The End