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EXPLORE OTHER 'DIVISION' STORIES HERE
EXPLORE OTHER 'PRIME NUMBERS' STORIES HERE

BEAN THIRTEEN 
Author: Matthew McElligott
​Illustrator: Matthew McElligott

Picture
Number of pages: 29
Publisher: Penguin's Putnam Publishing Group (USA)
First published in: 2007
Format: Picturebook

Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes
Is this story part of a mathematics story series? No 
​

​Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, CAN​

Synopsis by the author/publisher
Ralph warns Flora not to pick that thirteenth bean. Everyone knows it's unlucky! Now that they're stuck with it, how can they make it disappear? If they each eat half the beans, there's still one left over. And if they invite a friend over, they each eat four beans, but there's still one left over! And four friends could each eat three beans, but there's still one left over! HOW WILL THEY ESCAPE THE CURSE OF BEAN THIRTEEN?! A funny story about beans, that may secretly be about ... math! Sometimes you can divide, but you just can't conquer (the bean thirteen, that is). ​ 
“But something still wasn't right. "Why does Rocco get three beans?" complained Ralph. "That's more than anyone else." "Well, we could give him two," said Flora, "but ..." [...] "Tell me," said Ralph. "But what?" "It's just that we'll still have an extra bean," said Flora. "I'm really not sure why."​”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org 
At the time of writing this review, Matthew McElligott’s ‘Bean Thirteen’ (2007) is, as far as we are concerned, the only mathematical story in the market with an explicit focus on properties of prime numbers, specifically thirteen. Not only does this story provide a great introduction to the concept of prime numbers, it can, of course, also be used to teach division and the concept of remainders. The story follows two crickets, Ralph and Flora, who have collected twelve beans to bring home for dinner. When Flora decides to pick one more bean (i.e. Bean Thirteen), Ralph is convinced it will bring bad luck. No matter how many friends they invite to share the beans equally, Bean Thirteen is always there on its own. What would Ralph and Flora do to solve this problem!? The story lends itself perfectly to encouraging young readers to investigate which other numbers have the same property as thirteen. The storyline is engaging and humorous, with believable and cute characters. ‘Bean Thirteen’ is charmingly illustrated by Matthew. The mathematical visualisation is clear, helpful and accurate. Gender representation in the cast is fair. All in all, we highly recommend ‘Bean Thirteen’. Recommended for children aged 6+ years old. 

​Recommended age range: 
6+ years old 

Relevant topics: 
Division; Prime numbers

​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.
​
CLICK HERE FOR A LESSON IDEA FOR 10-11 YEARS OLD CHILDREN WITH A FOCUS ON PRIME AND COMPOSITE NUMBERS BY MADELINE PRICE

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ABOUT US

MathsThroughStories.org is a non-profit and 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
    • 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