One Grain Of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale | 
|  | | | Title: | One Grain Of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale | | Author: | Demi
Demi (Illustrator) | | Publisher: | Scholastic Press | | Type: | Book / Hardcover | | Publication Date: | 01 April, 1997 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 059093998X / 9780590939980 | | List Price: | $19.95 | | You Save: | $6.38 | | Amazon Price: | $13.57 | |
 This book is also available, brand-new, from 3rd-party marketplace sellers at Amazon.com, from $12.00. |
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Book Description
A reward of one grain of rice doubles day by day into millions of grains of rice when a selfish raja is outwitted by a clever village girl.
Amazon.com
Exotic, beautiful, and instructive, this "mathematical folktale" by author-illustrator Demi emerged from her love of India. The narrative and the evocative illustrations combine to create a real sense of the culture and atmosphere of this romantic land. It's the story of Rani, a clever girl who outsmarts a very selfish raja and saves her village. When offered a reward for a good deed, she asks only for one grain of rice, doubled each day for 30 days. Remember your math? That's lots of rice: enough to feed a village for a good long time--and to teach a greedy raja a lesson.
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Customer Reviews:
• A Tale To Delight Both Young And Old 01 November, 2005
My daughter is three and loves this book -- not just for the gorgeous fold-out illustrated spread of the caravan of elephants carrying the rice on the 30th day -- but because she can follow along with the story. The tale is of a rich greedy rajah who doesn't want to share, but is then outwitted by a young girl and forced to give up all the grain in his storehouses. At the end, he is humbled and vows to be a more fair and wise ruler. My daughter loves to sit with one grain of rice in her hand like Rani on the title page of the book. I can see her forming rudimentary mathematical concepts, but I won't push it. There's plenty of time to return to this book when we introduce the times tables.
The visual progression of the increasing volume of rice is shown by the variety of animals which deliver the daily ration. First, just a series of birds with grains of rice in their beaks. Then on to a leopard, a tiger, and a lion each carrying a small pouch in their mouths. By the sixteenth day, a goat is pulling a cart on which sits a bag of rice. On the twenty-fourth day, eight deer each bring her a basket strapped to their backs. And so on until the enormous procession of elephants! The last page of the book is a very useful table called "from one grain of rice to one billion" which shows the actual numerical progression. Demi outdid herself with this book, which any homeschooling family will find useful.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1EIOM9O3F17UB
• Reading In High School Math 02 May, 2008
I teach high school algebra and found that the addition of children's literature enhances my curriculum. I used this book when we began exponential functions. I read the first part to my students and then had them fill in a chart telling how many grains of rice she received each day for 30 days and ultimately come up with a formula. The book itself is beautiful and even high schoolers enjoyed it. (After the math activity, they asked me to finish the book. :)
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1JCHR8S7Q6VTW
• Great Book For All Ages, Really! 29 December, 2006
I have purchased 5 copies of this book - one for my kids and the rest as gifts. I've also suggested it to others to give children as gifts. My older son is 2 1/2 years old and he enjoys this book. Certainly, I can expect an older child, around 5 or older, to get more of the mathematical detials from the book, but my son likes it too.
Instead of reading the numbers aloud, I show him that Rani shared the single grain of rice with this bird, 2 grains with that peacock.. the bagful of rice with the tiger... etc. He loves it. The illustrations are outstanding!! I always feel like I'm reading a book from the "royal" archives when I pick this up.
Enjoy!
- Reviewed by customer ID: ABBKDQRTGT0E6
• Great Book! 19 May, 2008
My daughters are 7 and 8 and they love this book. It was a great story and something to keep in our home for a long time.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3UQ9MEMGKJUM4
• A Lot To Learn, Including Girl-power 19 April, 2006
This is Demi's re-telling of an old folktale of a king who orders that all rice in his kingdom must be stored in the royal granaries so that there would be food in times of famine; but when his people start to go hungry, he refuses to open the granaries, claiming that the situation was not bad enough to warrant doing so - until a small child outsmarts him by asking for a grain of rice doubled every day for a month.
I love this book because there is a lot to be learned from it. Of course, there is the math: the concept of doubling and how quickly doubling makes the numbers grow. There is the art: lovely Indian-inspired illustrations with stunning gold effects. There are also moral lessons, namely that power can corrupt, and that even a small child can teach a mighty king.
Then, there is a special lesson for all little girls everywhere - that girls can do math. After all, the math-smart hero of the story is a little girl herself.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A7LWHX5O026N8
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