One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale

Rating:
Summary: Kudos from a math major...
Review: A moral and a math tale rolled into one. What more could you ask, except for some delightful illustrations modeled after Indian art and culture? This book is such a pleasure that besides obtaining a copy from myself, I gave one to my mathematics advisor, who thought it was cute as well. It's a clever illustration of the doubling function and a useful teaching tool for the younger grades.

The text is well-written and appropriate for its audience, the pictures are colorful and elegant, and the pull-out poster is just plain fun. What child wouldn't like a scene that simply depicts 256 elephants marching across the page? And the story of a girl who teaches a ruler to be kind and just is classic-not to mention that, being a girl myself, I appreciate the message that is sent by the intelligent main character being female. Finally, the very last page of the book contains a helpful chart that corresponds the grains of rice Rani receives each day to the day she receives it on.

As a side note, parents might find it a fun project to replicate this tale in real life by giving a child a penny and then doubling it for seven days. At the end of the week the child would be the proud owner of $1.27, not to mention possess some newfound math skills. I would advise you to restrict it to a week instead of the thirty days that is used in the book, though. Unless, of course, you've got the $10,737,400 you would be obligated to give lying around the house in spare change. ^_~

Rating:
Summary: Kudos from a math major...
Review: A moral and a math tale rolled into one. What more could you ask, except for some delightful illustrations modeled after Indian art and culture? This book is such a pleasure that besides obtaining a copy from myself, I gave one to my mathematics advisor, who thought it was cute as well. It's a clever illustration of the doubling function and a useful teaching tool for the younger grades.

The text is well-written and appropriate for its audience, the pictures are colorful and elegant, and the pull-out poster is just plain fun. What child wouldn't like a scene that simply depicts 256 elephants marching across the page? And the story of a girl who teaches a ruler to be kind and just is classic-not to mention that, being a girl myself, I appreciate the message that is sent by the intelligent main character being female. Finally, the very last page of the book contains a helpful chart that corresponds the grains of rice Rani receives each day to the day she receives it on.

As a side note, parents might find it a fun project to replicate this tale in real life by giving a child a penny and then doubling it for seven days. At the end of the week the child would be the proud owner of $1.27, not to mention possess some newfound math skills. I would advise you to restrict it to a week instead of the thirty days that is used in the book, though. Unless, of course, you've got the $10,737,400 you would be obligated to give lying around the house in spare change. ^_~

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Story!
Review: Demi sweeps us away with this story of a little girl whose quick thinking and knowlege of mathematics teaches a raja a lesson and saves her village.

This story touches on many levels, the first of which is the visual. A few of its glossy pages, each the quality of a fine color print, unfold to over two feet in length for the purpose of illustrating a mathematic principle that could never be explained as well only in words, no matter how many. It also serves up a well-told tale, set in India, that holds a child to the last. Finally, it offers lessons in generosity, keeping one's word, providing for the future, and helping the poor. "A Grain of Rice" is truly original, however, in the way that it brings all of these elements, particularly the mathematic and the humanitarian, together in one arrestingly beautiful book.

This would make a touching gift to anyone who enjoys Indian art and design or mathematics, regardless of age. It is also a perfect gift for a child as it is both aesthetically pleasing and educational--what parent could want more in a children's book?

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Math, Eloquent Ethics
Review: Demi sweeps us away with this story of a little girl whose quick thinking and knowlege of mathematics teaches a raja a lesson and saves her village.

This story touches on many levels, the first of which is the visual. A few of its glossy pages, each the quality of a fine color print, unfold to over two feet in length for the purpose of illustrating a mathematic principle that could never be explained as well only in words, no matter how many. It also serves up a well-told tale, set in India, that holds a child to the last. Finally, it offers lessons in generosity, keeping one's word, providing for the future, and helping the poor. "A Grain of Rice" is truly original, however, in the way that it brings all of these elements, particularly the mathematic and the humanitarian, together in one arrestingly beautiful book.

This would make a touching gift to anyone who enjoys Indian art and design or mathematics, regardless of age. It is also a perfect gift for a child as it is both aesthetically pleasing and educational--what parent could want more in a children's book?

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Story!
Review: Just wondering if anyone can give us all information on when this book will be available again. It is one of the best storys with the most beautiful pictures for young and old alike. It is a classic that will always be on top of my list!

Rating:
Summary: Mom, Can we get this one to Keep?
Review: My 6-year old son and I were looking at this book one day in the bookstore. I told him that it was about math so he immediately wanted me to read it because he loves math! I read it to him and he enjoyed it slightly, it seemed. The day after, he asked me if I would read it to him, again. "Silly! I didn't buy the book," I told him. "I'll just check it out at the library"
(like we have been doing for a couple of months since we started homeschooling.) "No, Mom" he said, "I want this book to keep." I didn't realize that he liked it that much. We usually go through 20-30 books a week, and there's only been one other book that he wanted to keep since August. The pictures are bold and colorful. Some of the pages even open out to show even more of the objects to count. Excellent story! Good morals in the end, too.

Rating:
Summary: One Grain of Rice A Mathematical Folktale
Review: The story One Grain of Rice A Mathematical Folktale, has a worthwhile theme, teaching morals and the importance of keeping one's promises. The book also touches on the need to plan for the future, as well as teaching a mathematical concept. The book tells the story of a village girl named Rani who outsmarts a raja; teaching him a valuable lesson in the process.
The illustrations are just as important as the text in telling and moving the story along. The drawings of Rani appear to move across the page--drawing the reader's eyes to follow her to the next page of the story. The book evokes the reader's curiosity and encourages him/her to predict the outcome of the story. The reader is touched on an emotional level with the introduction of the real-life situation of famine and one person's humanitarian solution to the problem.
From a mathematical viewpoint the story provides a base on which to build and expand one's knowledge of patterns and relationships; encouraging the use of algebraic thinking in order to solve the mathematical problem presented in the story. A problem I had with the story was that I felt the story was written at about a 1-4th grade level while the mathematical question it presented was more appropriate for a 6th grade classroom. The book dealt with this by including double-page fold outs that helped to illustrate to younger readers how the number of grains of rice were growing. My favorite aspect of the book was the use of the female character of Rani. The book showed that females are capable of understanding and in some cases outsmarting males when it comes to mathematical concepts and knowledge.
One Grain of Rice provides a multitude of opportunities for teachers and students to research and expand on details presented in the story. Students may want to explore the culture, art, and governments of other countries such as India. They may also want to learn about the different types of animals illustrated in the story, or discover where rice comes from and how it is grown. Teachers may want to expand the mathematical lesson further by giving his/her students the task of discovering how many people the rice Rani received as her reward would feed. The book One Grain of Rice A Mathematical Folktale would be a wonderful addition to any library or classroom.

Rating:
Summary: SPLENDID!
Review: This book has stunning illustrations in the style of Indian miniature paintings, including some surprise fold-out pages. It is educational and entertaining on many levels: it illustrates a difficult math concept, it tells a dynamic fable from another country, and it is beautiful to look at. Art, literature, and math convene in one delightful children's book. It would make a wonderful gift. My son enjoys it even though he is only 5, because he often wonders about big numbers, and the story is adventurous enough to hold his attention. 5 stars plus!

Rating:
Summary: A great book for young kids!
Review: When I was little, this was one of my favorite books. I loved the way the one grain of rice would turn into over ten billion! Every kid from 1st-4th grade will love this! Its fun to read and a great math lesson! Hope you enjoy this sweet book!