Seven Golden Rings is a delightfully clever picture book about Bhagat, a boy in ancient India, who seeks an audience with the rajah to become part of his musical court. Faced with the conundrum of paying for a week's stay at the inn without overpaying, Bhagat needs to figure out the most efficient way to break up a chain of 7 golden links. With just two breaks, he's able to calculate and pay for each night of the stay, until he can finally prove his worth to the rajah. The illustrations are colo...

This book hits so many of the curricular connections teachers so often look for! Music, math, and all from a carefully crafted story that reads like a fairy tale, with a culturally rich perspective.A music-loving rajah, disinterested in the finer details of running his kingdom, neglects to provide his subjects with enough to eat. Bhagat, a talented singer and thinker, works long days with his Amma, and hopes that his gift of song will be a way out of poverty. On his journey to audition for the r...

An excellent book set in India (plus!!) about using math and numbers (another plus!!) as a means to survival for a teen and his mother. The artwork is absolutely superb and the pictures alone can tell the story. The author even explains how binary numbers work which is a total plus for me as even I never knew how they worked; only that they only use the numbers 0 and 1.A must read for anyone who enjoys math and who just loves a good story set in India.

Lovely folktale including music and a math puzzle. LOVE

Oh, how I love Rajani LaRocca’s debut picture book SEVEN GOLDEN RINGS: A Tale of Music and Math...let me count the ways:1. Lush, breathtaking setting of ancient India expanding from a “dusty village,” to the city where a glorious palace is found.2. Gorgeous illustrations expertly colored and shaded by Archana Sreenivasan that show expressions in the finest of details.3. Charming, determined protagonist named Bhagat who has so much to offer.4. Bhagat is a hopeful singer who wants to share his son...

An engaging and informative book that is sure to get those curiosity gears turning. What a clever way of explaining the complex topic of the binary numbers. I loved the author's folktale-sy narrative style that reminded me of one of my favorite picture books, One Grain of Rice, that also involves Indian folklore and math. The art is colorful, charming, and delightful. There is extensive backmatter explaining the decimal and binary number systems. This is a must for classrooms and libraries.

SEVEN GOLDEN RINGS is a truly clever and beautiful tale. The mixture of math and music is ingenuous and the story, compelling. Hopeful and wise Bhagat sets out from his “dusty village” in hopes of earning a spot in the rajah’s court as a singer. If successful his mother and he could work less and eat more. From the beginning of this story we are introduced to wholes, halves and quarters – all so seamlessly woven into Bhagat’s journey. And the math puzzle he needs to solve along the way, with pat...

This is such a lovely book with so many layers, perfect for drawing in all kinds of readers. The illustrations are so lush, colorful, and inviting, just beckoning readers to take a trip to India via its pages. Bhagat is a musician at heart who wants to help his family by seeking employment with the king. As he leaves, his mother gives him seven fused links of chain, part of her necklace, plus one rupee. The math puzzle central to the tail requires Bhagat to think through the many ways the links

Excellent book introducing logic concepts and math, mixed with a fairytale-esque plot. A young man is talented in math and music, and sees an opportunity to better his fortunes by winning a chance to sing for the rajah. When his talent for accounting and math is publicly recognized, he is given a role to help manage resources for the whole kingdom, and finds a better life for himself AND for everyone else. A great story about how sometimes our greatest talents and treasures lie hidden within us,...

If you want me to get excited about math, the only way to do it is to sneak it into a magical fairytale of a story and SEVEN GOLDEN RINGS does just that! With a gloriously exotic landscape filled with washes of sunset and sunrise colors, Bhagat sets out to audition for the Rajah’s Royal Troupe. His wise mother cautions him to offer the rajah more than just his musical skill and gives him the family’s last seven rings to pay for Bhagat’s journey. Readers will worry for Bhagat just as they marvel

There are so many layers, and so much to love in this beautiful book. Written in the style of an old folktale with lush, deeply colorful illustrations to match, this is the story of culture, music, math, and using one's gifts in an ingenious way to save not only one family but the whole kingdom. I love how Rajani LaRocca wove together these thematic threads into a seamless whole, and how Bhagat finds a brilliant way to solve the central math puzzle of the story. Best of all, after reading the au...

In ancient India, Bhagat travels to the city hoping to change his family's fortune by being selected as a singer for the rajah. He takes his family's fortune with him--one rupee and a chain of seven golden rings. But the innkeeper wants a ring for each night Bhagat stays there, and every broken link costs one rupee. How can Bhagat break the chain, pay for his room, and never give away more than he has to? A fun story mixing the feel of a fairy tale with math. A great choice for an elementary cla...

I edited this, so I am completely biased, but it is wonderful! It functions both as the completely satisfying story of a boy who improves his family's fortunes through his talent and ingenuity, AND a stealthy lesson about binary numbers. And the illustrations by Archana Sreenivasan have character, humor, sweetness, and so much color and brilliant little details -- it's a delight to look at every time. Coming in October 2020 from Lee & Low Books.

Seven Golden Rings is a beautiful and delightfully clever picture book about the journey of Bhagat, whose wits are sharp as can be. Bhagat had one rupee and a chain of seven golden rings, he was only able to pay the goldsmith enough to cut one of his seven golden rings to pay the inn-keeper every day. Bhagat the thinker was able to think outside of the box, with the perfect calculations he was able to find a solution to his dilemma without overpaying the inn-keeper once! Rajani's words remind me...

LaRocca's picture book debut delightfully wraps a math puzzle within Indian culture.Bhagat and his mother live on the fringes of poverty. He proposes to his mother that he audition to be a singer in the rajah's court. She obliges by giving him what few valuables she has left - one rupee and the last seven gold link/rings of her wedding necklace. After careful thought, Bhagat works out a plan to make his resources last until he is invited to be a member of the rajah's court - not for his singing,...

I’ve always loved tales where the hero had to use his/her brains to complete a quest, and this tale is a perfect example. Bhagat is a kind, bright boy who dreams of singing for the rajah, but ends up doing much more, benefitting the entire kingdom. (And he doesn't give up his dream of singing, either!) No hero journeys completely alone, so it’s nice to see a couple of helper characters like Bhagat’s mother and the innkeeper who give him support along the way. The rajah presents a refreshing char...

Seven Golden Rings follows a boy with limited means who tries to create a better life for himself and his mother by risking everything they have in order to audition for a spot on the rajah's musical troupe. That in itself is a really compelling story and one we can all relate to in modern times. (Will we witness an epic fail à la American Idol or America's Got Talent??) But layered into that story is a math puzzle. And it's really fun to try to figure out the solution to the puzzle as you're re...

OOOH BOY, this is an excellent book. First, the book is reminiscent of classic folk tales, with a strong lesson to be gleaned. Second, the book shows how to think critically to solve a complex problem (and there is some explanation in the back as to how the protagonist solves the math riddle). Third, the book teaches readers to not be inflexible with their goals and dreams--that while one dream might not work out, there will be another opportunity if you are open to a different path. Fourth, the...

What a wonder this lovely picture book is. I read it in search of recent releases that engaged "content" area topics through a multi-cultural lens. In fact, this is a must-have for math classrooms across many ages, but it also offers rich layers of emotional growth and problem-solving. A young person in quest of a dream is a wonderful way to launch a story, but the nature of his relationship with his mother, and her insightful advice early in the story create a hidden gem that shines through at

Wow, what an incredible picture book! I have to admit that the words "binary numbers" have always intimidated me, but I could not put this book down! Connecting the idea of binary numbers to music and story is brilliant, making these ideas relevant and compelling. Rajani's notes at the end are so well written that I wanted to keep reading and learn more! This book is perfect for a STEM/STEAM collection, and for introducing children (and some grownups) to the concept of binary numbers. The art by...