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Folktale Mathematics Series in Cantonese
(with Romanization and English)

CAMathories® has published a series of story books that is part of a comprehensive CAMathories® Folktale Mathematics™ curriculum that teaches mathematics in an enjoyable and engaging way using folktales from various parts of the world. The books on this webpage are Cantonese versions of selected books (with Romanization and English) from the Folktale Mathematics™ series. CAMathories® Folktale Mathematics™ offers a research-informed approach to traditional mathematics classroom pedagogy and at the same time supports diversity and inclusion for one world.

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How to Use Our Books

The CAMathories® Folktale Mathematics™ Series of books are written in such a way as if our writers are “telling” the stories to the child, or children, in person. Enjoy reading the stories together. Chat together about the plot and the characters, and encourage the children to talk about their mathematical ideas. Touch and count objects and characters in the books. Once you have read a story with your children a few times, when you think they are ready, encourage them to retell the story on their own. That is how your children can learn and enjoy learning mathematics and language. You can find more learning tips here.

There are teaching plans, assessments and games that accompany the books. Please email info@camathories.com for more details.


Hope you enjoy our Folktale Mathematics™ storybooks and Happy CAMathoring!

Dr. Kit presented our Cantonese/English (with Yale Romanization) books to Livingston Cantonese School in New Jersey on 11/3/2024

Teachers and parents were happy to learn that we embrace folktales from different parts of the world so children can learn more about other people's cultures, mathematics, and Cantonese in one book. Through our rebate and credit system, we offer a 20% discount to all parents and teachers of Cantonese schools in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

Books presentation in a Cantonese school in Livingston New Jersey2.jpeg
Book presentation to a Cantonese school in Livingston New Jersey2.jpeg

Goldilocks and the Three Bears
高迪樂絲同三隻熊

Book front cover for Goldilocks and the Three Bears with Cantonese, Romanization and English

“Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is a popular British folktale that tells how a young girl went into the Three Bears' Cottage and we learn about what she found there. Readers will be counting up to 3 with Goldilocks.

One morning, the bears made three bowls of porridge. One. Two. Three. But it was too hot to eat! The bears decided to go for a walk in the forest to get some fresh air and wait for the porridge to cool down.
An illustration of three bears sitting at a table with three porridge bowls on it
In another part of the forest there lived a girl called Goldilocks. She was a very curious girl. That same morning she was also out for a walk in the woods. On her walk, Goldilocks found a delightful little cottage, which she had never seen before.
An illustration of a girl in a forest looking at a cottage
Now Goldilocks went to explore the rest of the cottage, and found the bears' bedroom. In it were three beds. One. Two. Three. One bed was very very big, another was very very small, but the middle one was just the right size. Goldilocks laid down in the bed that was just right and had a nap.
An illustration of a girl in a bedroom looking at three beds

To find out if Amazon in your country also carries our titles, please cut and paste the Chinese characters of our title to search within your Amazon store.

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Listen to a sample of Goldilocks below by clicking on 'Save on Spotify'.

(Audiobooks for other titles will be available Spring 2025.)

5 Little Monkeys Catching the Moon
五隻馬騮撈月亮

Book front cover for 5 Monkeys Catching the Moon with Cantonese, Romanization and English

In “5 Little Monkeys Catching the Moon”, a group of playful and funny little monkeys made a silly mistake. They thought that the moon had fallen into a well and then they tried to catch the moon! Readers count 1 to 5 and recite the string of number words to five. This series helps readers to develop an awareness of the principle of ‘order irrelevance’ – we can count things in any order but the number stays the same.

Once upon a time five monkeys were playing in the woods, some of them were jumping on the trees, and some were playing around on the ground. It was a lovely warm summer evening and the monkeys were having great fun.
Five-monkeys-Cantonese2.jpeg
"Oh no! Oh NO!" he shouted. "Something really dreadful has happened!" The other monkeys came running. They thought that their silly little brother really might have leaned too far and fallen in the well.
Five-monkeys-Cantonese4.jpeg
But the youngest monkey called, "Come and look! Quick! The moon has fallen into the well!" The other monkeys looked into the well, and there it was. They could see the beautiful yellow moon floating the water. "Oh NO! LOOK! The moon really has fallen into the well!"
Five-monkeys-Cantonese6.jpeg

To find out if Amazon in your country also carries our titles, please cut and paste the Chinese characters of our title to search within your Amazon store.

Paco and the Giant Chili Plant
柏 高 同 大 辣 椒 植 物

Book cover illustration for Paco and the Giant Chili Plant, A folktale from Mexico, showing a boy climbing a green stalk. Author: Helen Bradford, Ph.D. Illustrator: Vishesh Mehra. Cantonese Translator: Kitman Cheung

​“Paco and the Giant Chili Plants” is a Mexican folktale about an adventure of a young Mexican boy, Paco, who received magical chili plant seeds and ultimately climbed up to the sky where he met a giant! Readers will count groups of up to 5 with Paco during his amazing adventure. This series helps readers to develop an awareness of the principle of ‘order irrelevance’ – we can count things in any order but the number stays the same.

Illustration of a cow with cactus plants in the background
Illustration of a man handing a bag of seeds to a boy. The text says: Paco set off along the dusty road to town. Along the way, an old man with a long, white beard passed by. "What a fine cow you have!" he said to Paco. "I have to sell her so that we can buy seeds to plant on our farm," Paco replied. "My Mama and I have no food to eat." "Well, I will happily take your cow," said the old man. I do not have any money, but I do have these five magic chili seeds." "Why are they magic?" asked Paco. "Plant them and see!" said the old man. And with that, he handed Paco a small bag, gave him a wink with his eye, and took the cow away with him.
Illustration of a boy planting five seeds under a sunny sky. The text says: Paco hurried home and planted the seeds in the field behind his house. The sun shone. Paco watered the seeds.
Illustration of seeds under the earth beneath a sunny sky. The text reads: and he waited for the chili plants to grow. He waited… And he waited… And he waited. Nada, Nada, nothing…
Illustration of a boy appearing above a cloud. The text reads: Uh-oh. Suddenly, there was a terrible noise, a rumbling and grumbling, a crashing and bashing, a banging and clanging, like you have never heard before… Paco saw a huge giant striding noisy towards him, shaking a fist holding his lunchtime tortilla. The giant bellowed, "Fi, fi, fo, fum? Why are you here little one?"
Illustration of a giant standing on a cloud holding a tortilla

To find out if Amazon in your country also carries our titles, please cut and paste the Chinese characters of our title to search within your Amazon store.

The Story of the Twin Sisters
一 對 孖 生 姊 妹 嘅 故 事

Illustrated cover of the 'Twin Sisters' book. A folktale from India. Author: Helen Bradford, Ph.D. Reviewer: Lorna Ayton, Ph.D. (Cantab). Reviewer: PPenny Coltman, MED. Res. Illustrator: Adeeba. Cantonese Translator: Kitman Cheung.

“The Story of the Twin Sisters” is based on a folktale from India. It tells the story of Haldi and Adarak, twin sisters with very different approaches to helping their grandparents. The book will support children to learn to confidently recount numbers one to five. They will understand that five objects will always remain five objects, no matter how they are organized, as Haldi journeys from her home to her grandparents’ and back again.

So Haldi wrapped five gifts for her grandparents. She wrapped each gift in brown paper to make one, two, three, four, five parcels. She could not find a basket to put them in, so she tucked them under her arm, and began the long journey to her grandparents' home. What do you think the gift inside each parcel is?
Illustration of five wrapped presents.
Along the way, she came upon an oven, full of baking loaves. "Little girl! Little girl!" called out the loaves. "Please take us out of here! Do take us out or we shall be burnt!" Now Haldi was a kind, thoughtful girl. She stopped carefully put down her five parcels one at a time and took out all the loaves of bread from the oven. "Thank you," sighed the five loaves. "That feels much better " "Your're welcome," said Haldi.
A drawing of girl by an oven. The oven contains 5 loaves, one of which is saying "help".
“Thank you,” sighed the five loaves. “That feels much better.” “You’re welcome,” said Haldi. She counted the loaves, one, two, three, four, five. Then she picked up her parcels, one, two, three, four five, and went on her way.
An illustration of a girl with five loaves and five presents

To find out if Amazon in your country also carries our titles, please cut and paste the Chinese characters of our title to search within your Amazon store.

Kino Goes Fencing
Kino 去 學 劍 擊

Kino Goes Fencing Cantonese edition cover. CAMathories™ World Sports Mathematics Series. Reviewers: Jackie Dubrovich, Lori Mirabel, Ed.D, Frank Mustilli. Illustrator: Qian Mi. Author: Kit Cheung, Ph.D. (Cantab)

Have you ever learned a new sport? Kino, a 4-year-old girl, is taking her first fencing lesson. She feels a bit nervous. Luckily, she meets another young girl called Mya, who helps Kino to become less anxious and realize how much fun it is to learn to fence. While reading this story, you can help Kino and Mya to practice their counting, and most excitingly, to count their scores in their first-ever fencing game!

"We wear special clothes when we fence to keep us from getting hurt," said Coach Frank. "Fencers call these special clothes their "gear". We wear different gear for each piece of equipment. Here are all the pieces of gear we need to wear when we are using Foil." "That's a lot of gear!" said Kino.
Mya saw Kino counting, and said, "You will know all the names of this gear by the time you get on to the strip." "What's a strip?" Kino asked. "That's the name of the place where we fence!" Mya replied. "Baseballers play baseball on a baseball field, fencers play their games on a fencing strip."
Kino said, "Wow, you really know a lot about fencing!" "I told you I always watch my brother fence and that is how I learned, replied Mya. "Don't worry, Kino! I will show you what I know." Kino felt a huge sense of relief. She knew that she had made a good friend at her first fencing lesson. She felt so much happier..
Coach Frank introduced the club's other coaches. "Coach Alejandre teaches Épée, Coach Abdul teaches Saber, and Coach Brian teaches Foil. I'm the head coach so | teach all three! Mya and Kino, can you join Coach Brian and change into the Foil gear, please?" Kino was so glad that she was going to learn Foil with Mya!
Step. Step. Step. Lunge! Another point to Mya! How many points all together does Mya have now?
Coach Brian said, " Kino and Mya, remember, a fencer needs five points to win a bout!" How many more points will Mya need to win the bout?

To find out if Amazon in your country also carries our titles, please cut and paste the Chinese characters of our title to search within your Amazon store.

The First Thanksgiving
第 一 個 感 恩 節

Book cover for The First Thanksgiving with an illustration of families enjoying a meal.

The First Thanksgiving tells the story of William, a young boy who sailed on the Mayflower, a ship that traveled from England to America in the year 1620. It is told in his own words. William thinks he is going to have such an exciting adventure! It was not always easy however, traveling to a new land, and William learns to be thankful for many things before he finally settles in America with his family. Upon reading this story, children will have opportunities to count to 5 and 10, and engage in further practice counting things that cannot be seen. Whilst reading the story, they will develop an initial concept of seasons.

An illustration of a ship leaving a harbour. The text reads: In the summer of 1620, I set sail on a ship called the Mayflower. The Mayflower was a grand ship, and her captain was called Christopher Jones. We sailed from Plymouth, a city in a country called England. I was traveling with my parents, my older sister, and many other brave English families.
An illustration of a map showing a ship travelling from Plymouth, England across the Atlantic Ocean. The text reads: The Mayflower journey 1620.
An illustration of a ship in rough seas with frightened-looking passengers.
An illustration of people building a house. The text reads: The storms, thankfully, did not last forever (they never do, do they?), and finally we arrived in America. We built ourselves houses so that we had shelter, but we had sailed through the summer and fall, and now it was winter. We had our houses, but it was very cold in America, much colder than in England, and we did not have enough food.
An illustration of a person harvesting corn.
An illustration of three people behind a table with pumpkins and corn. The text reads: We had settled in a new place and started a new life, thanks to Squanto.

The Christmas Spider
聖 誕 蜘 蛛

Christmas-Cantonese-cover.jpeg

In Western Ukraine a sparkly spider or spider web is a common Christmas tree ornament. Why might this be? Discover the answer as you share this traditional story. The tale tells of a poor family who would love to decorate their home for Christmas. A chance discovery helps them to grow their own Christmas tree, but how can they make it glitter and shimmer on Christmas Day? Help comes from a very unexpected source.


As children listen to this story they will learn and use some of the language that describes the position of things. They will describe and compare sizes and will practise early counting skills.

Illustration of a boy and girl inside a room. Through the window, we can see a woodsman outside.
Illustration of a woman and little boy. The text reads: Once upon a time there was a woodsman who lived happily with his wife and three children in a cottage in a wood. The eldest child was a boy called Alex, the middle child was a girl called Nina and the baby was a boy called Nikita. The family were very poor, but they enjoyed making many of the things they needed, and they grew herbs, vegetables and fruits to make delicious meals.
Illustration of a woman, boy and girl. The text reads: One day, in late winter, the cottage door blew open and a strange little object rolled in and landed on the cottage floor. It was shaped rather like an egg but it was brown and knobbly. 'What's that?' asked Alex. 'It's a fir cone,' explained the woodsman. 'If we look after it, it will grow into a fir tree that we can decorate at Christmas time.'
An illustration of a man and a little boy in a cottage. A fir cone has just blown in through the open door.
Two illustrations of three children: the first shows the children planting a fir cone; the second shows a fir tree starting to grow. The text reads: The children planted the little fir cone in some soil outside the kitchen window and looked after it carefully. Sure enough, after a long time, a tiny fir tree began to grow. Over the months it grew and grew, until it was as tall as little Nikita.
Two illustrations of three children: the first shows a growing fir tree in autumn; the second an even taller fir tree in winter. The text reads: Then the fir tree kept growing until it was as tall as Nina. It was taller than Nikita now but not as tall as Alex. By December the little tree was not so little any more. It was quite tall. It was the same height as Alex!
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