PEG + CAT THE EID AL-ADHA ADVENTURE
Author: Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson
Illustrator: Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson
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Number of pages: 30
Publisher: Candlewick First published in: 2019 Format: Picturebook Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (Peg + Cat) Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, IND, CAN Synopsis by the author/publisher
It's Eid al-Adha, a very special holiday for Yasmina and Amir, who invite their friends Peg and Cat to check it out. After they all rock out with some singing, it’s time to head to the celebration, where there’s so much food waiting! Amir explains that an important part of celebrating Eid al-Adha is dividing the meat into three equal parts, one third to be shared with someone who has less. But with all three bowls of meatballs holding different amounts, they’ve got a BIG PROBLEM! Thanks to a balancing scale, a trip to a soup kitchen, and an unexpected visit to a housebound neighbor, Peg and Cat learn all about the concept of taking from where there’s more and giving to where there’s less. Even Cat discovers how awesome giving can be. Eid Mubarak! |
“"One important tradition," said Amir, "is dividing the meat into three equal parts." "When you have three equal parts of something, each part is a third," said Peg. "We keep one-third," said Amir. "We give one-third to our neighbours, and we give one-third to someone with less."”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson’s ‘Peg + Cat The Eid al-Adha Adventure’ (2018) is based on an episode of the same name in the long-running award-winning animated TV series, called Peg + Cat. In this particular title, Peg and Cat are visiting their friends (Yasmin and Amir) during their Eid al-Adha holiday celebration who explain that the festival is about giving to those with less. One way of doing this to split their food (special meat) into three equal parts: one-third for family, one-third for friends and neighbours, and one-third for those in need. Due to these key features of the festival, young readers will get to see fractions and the concept of less/more than being embedded in a purposeful context, not to mention the fact that they get to learn about different cultures and festivals. Throughout the story, the visual representations of the meat being divided equally into three parts, and of less food / more food are useful to help very young children visualise these early mathematical concepts. However, as the story is essentially a shorten printed version of the animated 10-minute version, it feels a bit wordy at times, particularly given how very young the target audience is. All in all, we recommend ‘Peg + Cat The Eid al-Adha Adventure’ to introduce both the concepts of fractions, number comparison as well as the conventional more / less than and equal symbols to children aged 4+ years old.
Recommended age range:
4+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Comparing and Ordering Numbers; Fraction
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.
Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson’s ‘Peg + Cat The Eid al-Adha Adventure’ (2018) is based on an episode of the same name in the long-running award-winning animated TV series, called Peg + Cat. In this particular title, Peg and Cat are visiting their friends (Yasmin and Amir) during their Eid al-Adha holiday celebration who explain that the festival is about giving to those with less. One way of doing this to split their food (special meat) into three equal parts: one-third for family, one-third for friends and neighbours, and one-third for those in need. Due to these key features of the festival, young readers will get to see fractions and the concept of less/more than being embedded in a purposeful context, not to mention the fact that they get to learn about different cultures and festivals. Throughout the story, the visual representations of the meat being divided equally into three parts, and of less food / more food are useful to help very young children visualise these early mathematical concepts. However, as the story is essentially a shorten printed version of the animated 10-minute version, it feels a bit wordy at times, particularly given how very young the target audience is. All in all, we recommend ‘Peg + Cat The Eid al-Adha Adventure’ to introduce both the concepts of fractions, number comparison as well as the conventional more / less than and equal symbols to children aged 4+ years old.
Recommended age range:
4+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Comparing and Ordering Numbers; Fraction
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.
