One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale

by Demi

Book Overview

Long ago in India, there lived a raja who believed that he was wise and fair. But every year he kept nearly all of the people's rice for himself. Then when famine came, the raja refused to share the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 059093998X
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 0.4" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

a tale to delight both young and old

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.

My daughter loves this book!

We checked this book out from the library 3 years ago when she was five. That year it was at the top of her Christmas wish list. Now three years later it is still one her favorite books. This book has a positive moral about greed and courage. It features a smart, courageous and generous female character who uses math to out whit a greedy raja. It also shows children that sharing and kindness are rewards in themselves. Plus the math lesson is fun and educational. What more could a parent ask for? We could ask for fantastic Indian art illustrations which the book is filled with. So this book does have it all. A positive moral, a brave heroine, an educational math lesson and wonderful vibrant illustrations.

Beautiful Math, Eloquent Ethics

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?

Kudos from a math major...

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. ^_~

wonderful tale delightful pictures great moral for all ages

I use this clever story in my math class to teach students about the power of exponents. It is a great way to introduce different cultures, good values and language arts into the math classroom. It is good for all ages, preschoolers to adults!