The Lion's Share: A Tale of Halving Cake and Eatting It, TooPublished: Bloombury
Year: 2012
Ages: 4-8
The Story Summery
When a very small ant is invited to the lion's dinner party, she knows to be on her best behavior. It true is an honor to dine with the king of the jungle!
Unfortunately, other partygoers don't share her good manners, gobbling up all the dessert before the king has had a taste. The ant's solution? Bake a brand-new cake for the king. But when the other boastful guests turn her kind gesture into a contest, the number of cakes multiplies at an alarming rate. Exactly how many cakes are fit for a king?
The Illustration:
The illustration of the book tell the story almost without the words! They work great with helping older kids catch a clue about the division and multiplication occurring before their eyes. Besides that, the illustration are crisp, bold, and show off the different personalities of the animals perfectly.
Matthew EcElligott is the double-talking author of many half-baked books for children, including Even Aliens Need Snacks, Even Monsters Need Haircuts, Absolutely Not, and two Backbeard the Pirate Adventures. He sleeps on half a double bed and puts half-and-half in his double espresso. He loves cake but doesn't like to share, even with an elephant. To find out more about Mathew, visit his Website at www.mattmcelligott.com.
What I Liked
I liked how Matthew was able to introduce the vocabulary of fractions to my little one. It have us the ability to talk about halves, wholes, and sharing outside of bedtime. It also got us to try different flavors of cake =^^=. Be warned, reading this story over and over (which your kid will want to do) will make you want cake!
What I Loved
As a parent who has had to read this book multiple times, I appreciate the way Matthew gives each animal different personality just with the use of speech. Each animal talks a little differently. This allows the parent to "preform" the book rather than just read it over and over.
What I might have changed
The only thing about this story that I would change is the king's reaction to the rudeness of his guests. Of course they punish themselves by trying to show off for the king. But a little more reaction from him would give some weight to the ant's grad gesture of baking a cake for him, and to her being the only to successfully fulfill her promise to him. Though ultimately the story isn't about the king and it works without this. It's just odd that he doesn't react in any way to any of the drama happening at his party.
Bedtime Breakdown
As mentioned my daughter super loves this story. My husband attempts to explain the complicated maths to her, but she's only three so she just likes hearing him talk. The story is fun to read and the illustration lend even more energy to the story.
Recommendations
Highly recommended for kiddos of all Elementary ages!
If you like this book please show Matthew EcElligott some love by checking this book out from your local library or purchase it your favorite bookstore.
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Reading List
Backbeard the Pirate Adventures
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