This is probably one of my favorite children literature books because it is about math, however, it also tells a great story and relates to life. The moral of this story is such a great lesson for students to know and learn about life. This book is well written and develops fantastically. ( )

This book takes place in India during a famine. After rice had fallen from the Rajas elephant, rani returned it and in return the Raja rewarded her with a grain of rice that double in amount each day. I would love to read this to my students to see if they can calculate how much rice in total she got. ( )

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 rice, and the people went hungry. Then a village girl named Rani devises a clever plan.

This book was a great way to get kids to see the power of exponential growth.

One Grain of Rice by Demi is a mathematical Indian folktale. It tells the story of a selfish Raja who is hoarding all of the rice from the people in his province during a time of famine. One day the Raja is in need of service and is assisted by Rani. As a reward for her help, Raja offers her a reward of her choosing. She asks that for 30 days of rice: a single grain the first day, double that the second day, and so on. It was such a modest demand that the Raja didn't think twice about agreeing to it. I don't think that Raja was aware of exponential growth.

I would recommend this book for teachers because it offers both a moral and mathematical lesson. The illustrations are gorgeous and inspired by the Indian paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries. Books that are conceptually strong for older students are not so easily found and this one really gets the students thinking. Possibly even asking and pondering the question about how much Rani received in all. ( )

This is a children's book, beautifully illustrated. However, because of the mathematical principles contained within (doubling), it would be for an older child. In the book Rani is more clever than the Raja, who confiscated all the rice for himself. ( )