science

The Story of (book series)

The Story of (book series) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Story of (book series) rather than just read about it. In short: The Story of series is a collection of children's picture books that were written by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by Yongsheng Xuan. Each installation depicts the invention of various objects in Chinese culture, including chopsticks, noodles, kites, and paper.

Key takeaways

The Story of (book series) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Story of (book series) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Story of (book series) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Story of series is a collection of children's picture books that were written by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by Yongsheng Xuan. Each installation depicts the invention of various objects in Chinese culture, including chopsticks, noodles, kites, and paper. An author's note and recipe is included at the end of each book. The first publication of The Story of Chopsticks was printed in English in 2001 by Holiday House. In 2016, the bilingual edition was printed in English and Chinese by Immedium. The illustrations, done by Xuan use traditional Chinese-style cut paper.

The Story of Chopsticks

Plot summary In the Story of Chopsticks, each meal is a battle for Kuai as he struggles against his two elder brothers to get to the food. In an act of witty desperation, Kuai uses two sticks to reach for the food that is too hot for his brothers' bare hands and unknowingly starts the tradition of chopsticks. The book concludes with an author's note, instructions for making chopsticks, and a recipe for "Sweet Eight Treasures Rice Pudding".

Character list Pan Kang - Son of Mama and Papa Ting Kang - Son of Mama and Papa Kùai Kang - Son of Mama and Papa Mama - Mother of Pan, Ting, and Kùai Papa - Father of Pan, Ting, and Kùai Mr. Wang - Friend of the Kangs Mr. Lee - Village wiseman

The Story of Noodles

Plot summary The Kang brothers ruin the dumpling ingredients their mother was going to use for the village cooking contest. Instead, they accidentally invent noodles. The book concludes with an author's note and a recipe for "Long Life Noodles".

Character list Mama - Mother of Pan, Ting, and Kùai Pan Kang - Son of Mama and Papa Ting Kang - Son of Mama and Papa Kùai Kang - Son of Mama and Papa Papa - Father of Pan, Ting, and Kùai Aunt Lee - Competitor in dumpling contest Scholar - Judge in dumpling contest Chef - Judge in dumpling contest Matchmaker - Judge in dumpling contest

The Story of Kites

Plot summary In the Story of Kites, the three Kang brothers bang pots and pans together in an attempt to chase birds from the rice fields. After that fails, they decide to make man-made wings out of chopsticks, feathers, and their math homework. The book has been published in English and Chinese. It concludes with an author's note and instructions on how to make a kite.

Character list Ting Kang - Son of Mama and Papa Pan Kand - Son of Mama and Papa Kùai Kand - Son of Mama and Papa Mama - Mother of Pan, Ting, and Kùai Papa - Father of Pan, Ting, and Kùai Villagers

The Story of Paper

Plot summary Long ago, before paper was invented in China, people wrote on their hands or the ground. In the Story of Paper, the naughty Kang brothers get in trouble at school and the teacher leaves a note on their hands for the whole village to see. To avoid embarrassment, the Kang brothers decide to invent something to hide the note from the villagers and their parents. The book concludes with an author's note and instructions for making "Homemade Garden Paper".

Character list Pan Kang - Son of Mama and Papa Ting Kang - Son of Mama and Papa Kùai Kang - Son of Mama and Papa Mama - Mother of Pan, Ting, and Kùai Papa - Father of Pan, Ting, and Kùai Teacher - Pan, Ting, and Kùai's teacher

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Story of (book series)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Story of (book series) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Story of (book series) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Story of (book series) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Story of (book series)

In research: The Story of (book series) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Story of (book series) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Story of (book series) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2000s books, 2001 children's books, 2002 children's books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Story of (book series) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Story of (book series) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Story of (book series) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Story of (book series) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Story of (book series) in simple terms?

Why does The Story of (book series) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Story of (book series)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Story of (book series).