The Lion's Share

McElligott, Matthew. 2009. THE LION’S SHARE. Ill. by Matthew McElligott. New York: Walker. ISBN 9780802797681 [Suggested Grade Levels 1- 3]

REVIEW
Matthew McElligott has woven a tale that includes mathematical concepts as well as life lessons. Lion has assembled a group of animals for a dinner party. The animals proceed to throw food, only talk about themselves, and take more than their share of the dessert. Ant is appalled by their rude, greedy behavior and offers to bake the king a cake. Not to be outdone by an ant, the other animal guests offer to bake cakes. Not to be outdone by each other, they each double the amount of cakes they will bake until the elephant has no choice but to say he will bake two hundred and fifty-six cakes. When ant delivers her cake to the king, she walks through quite a comical scene of animals that have literally bitten off more than they can chew.

McElligott’s illustrations are a combination of watercolor, ink, and digital techniques with mathematical concepts scattered throughout. Simple fractions are clearly apparent in the graphic layout of some pages while the concept of multiplication is evident in the thought bubbles of the animals.

CONNECTIONS
Use the characters in the book to create a reader’s theater. Make animal masks to wear while performing.
Recreate the halving of the cake with construction paper. Label the cake pieces with the fraction and the percent of the cake taken.

RELATED BOOKS
Other books by Matthew McElligott:
ABSOLUTELY NOT. ISBN 9781435273597
BACKBEARD AND THE BIRTHDAY SUIT. ISBN 9780802796806
BACKBEARD: PIRATE FOR HIRE. ISBN 9780802796325
BEAN THIRTEEN. ISBN 9780399245350

Other books for children with math concepts:
Murphy, Stuart J. GIVE ME HALF! ISBN 9780064467018
Pallotta, Jerry. THE HERSHEY’S MILK CHOCOLATE BAR FRACTIONS BOOK. ISBN 9780439135191

By Jane Jergensen