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EXPLORE OTHER 'FRACTION' STORIES HERE
EXPLORE OTHER 'PROBABILITY' STORIES HERE

A VERY IMPROBABLE STORY
Author: Edward Einhorn 
​Illustrator: Adam Gustavson

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Number of pages: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing (USA)
First published in: 2008
Format: Picturebook

Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes
Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (Charlesbridge Math Adventures)

Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, CAN
​
Synopsis by the author/publisher
Ethan wakes up one morning to find a very strange cat stuck on his head. The cat, Odds, refuses to budge until Ethan wins a game of probability. Without looking, Ethan must pick out a dime from his coin collection or two matching socks from his dresser, or do something else improbable. If he doesn't, Odds is there to stay, and Ethan has a 100% chance of missing his big soccer game. A very improbable story about a challenging math concept.
“He arranged the marbles in groups of 2. "I'm putting together every combinatin of 2 colors to figure out how likely 2 white marbles would be. "See, there are 16 combinations," he declared, "so the odds are 1 in 16!"”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org: 
Edward Einhorn's 'A Very Improbable Story' (2008), a title in the Charlesbridge Math Adventure series, introduces the concept of probability (and, to an extent, fractions) to young readers. The story follows Ethan, a young boy who woke up one morning with a talking, and rather bossy, black cat on his head. Odds, the cat, promised to get off Ethan’s head if he wins a probability game. Throughout the story, everyday situations are cleverly turned into probability games. The illustrations by Adam Gustavson are great in helping young readers to visualise probability though we wish this could have been done for every round of the game, particularly in the latter half of the story. We like the imaginative idea of a bossy talking cat, but we were not particularly drawn to the character, as we do not really know its motive: Why did Odds pick Edward? Why was Odds so obsessed about getting Edward to win a probability game? All in all, we like it for the mathematical element of the story, but we would have loved to see a more convincing storyline. Recommended for children aged 9+ years old. 
​
Recommended age range: 
9+ years old 

Relevant mathematics topics: 
Fraction; Probability

​
Possible teaching activities:
At MathsThroughStories.org, we believe that stories can be meaningfully incorporated in mathematics teaching in different ways. Thus, we are inviting you to share your experience of how you have used this story in your mathematics lesson with other members of the community. By sharing your experience with us, you will be added to our team of On-line Contributors here, where you can also find our submission guideline.

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ABOUT US

MathsThroughStories.org is a non-profit research-based initiative, based at the University of Reading's Institute of Education (UK).

It sets out to help mathematics learners around the world develop their conceptual understanding in mathematics and to help them foster positive attitudes towards the subject through  the power of storytelling.

Contact Us

  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • RESEARCH TEAM
    • On-line Contributors
    • Research Dissemination
    • Research Impact
    • SHOUTOUTS
    • Teacher Training / CPD Services
    • MEDIA APPEARANCES
  • RESOURCES
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
    • BLOG
    • NEWSLETTER
    • BOOK REVIEWS >
      • BOOK REVIEWS
      • INSPECTION COPIES
    • LESSON IDEAS
    • VIDEOS
    • CREATE YOUR OWN MATHEMATICAL STORIES >
      • GUIDELINE FOR MATHEMATICAL STORY AUTHORS
      • INTERVIEWS WITH MATHEMATICAL STORY AUTHORS
    • 'HOW TO' BOOKS
    • RESEARCH ARTICLES
    • PRACTITIONER-ORIENTED ARTICLES
  • COMPETITIONS
    • 2025 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2024 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2023 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2022 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2021 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2020 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2019 YMSA WINNING AND SHORTLISTED ENTRIES
  • NEWS
  • CONTACT US
    • GET INVOLVED