PEG + CAT THE PIZZA PROBLEM
Author: Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson
Illustrator: Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson
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Number of pages: 31
Publisher: Candlewick First published in: 2015 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
What do fractions have to do with pizza? The stars of the Emmy Award-winning animated series Peg + Cat serve up -- and solve! - a delicious problem. It's lunchtime at Peg's Pizza Place! Peg and Cat are excited to take their first order -- from the Teens! -- only to learn that some customers want a whole pizza while one of them wants half a pie. How can Peg and Cat make half a pie when they don't know what half is? Peg is totally freaking out -- until Cat reminds her that when it comes to halves and wholes, it's all in how you slice it. |
“Peg and Cat backed into the kitchen - and panicked! "What in the world is half a pie?" asked Peg. "Why can't Mora order a whole pie like every other teenager? How can we make half a pie when we don't know what a half is?"”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson’s ‘Peg + Cat The Pizza Problem’ (2015) 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’s Pizza Place is open for business. However, when a customer orders half a pizza, Peg finds herself unsure what that means and how it is different from a whole pizza. With the help of her chefs, she soon realises that there are two halves in every whole. Later, when the last few customers place four more orders (a half pizza, a half pizza, a half pizza and a whole pizza), Peg doubts that she will ever be able to fulfil the orders as the chefs tell her that there are only enough ingredients to make two and a half more pizzas only. Will the orders get fulfilled? The visual representations of whole pizzas and half pizzas are useful to help very young children visualise simple fractions. The context of the story is something that young readers can easily related to. However, there have already been so many stories that often associate learning simple fractions with pizzas, and so this story unfortunately misses an opportunity to go beyond this simple association and contribute something new to the field. It is useful that the inner side of the book cover (of the hard copy version, at least) features two worksheets relating to the story which children can work on to help them consolidate their mathematical understanding after finishing the story. 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 Lemonade Problem’ to introduce the concept of simple fraction to children aged 4+ years old. (Disclaimer: We received a complimentary inspection copy of this book from the publisher/author.)
Recommended age range:
4+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
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 Pizza Problem’ (2015) 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’s Pizza Place is open for business. However, when a customer orders half a pizza, Peg finds herself unsure what that means and how it is different from a whole pizza. With the help of her chefs, she soon realises that there are two halves in every whole. Later, when the last few customers place four more orders (a half pizza, a half pizza, a half pizza and a whole pizza), Peg doubts that she will ever be able to fulfil the orders as the chefs tell her that there are only enough ingredients to make two and a half more pizzas only. Will the orders get fulfilled? The visual representations of whole pizzas and half pizzas are useful to help very young children visualise simple fractions. The context of the story is something that young readers can easily related to. However, there have already been so many stories that often associate learning simple fractions with pizzas, and so this story unfortunately misses an opportunity to go beyond this simple association and contribute something new to the field. It is useful that the inner side of the book cover (of the hard copy version, at least) features two worksheets relating to the story which children can work on to help them consolidate their mathematical understanding after finishing the story. 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 Lemonade Problem’ to introduce the concept of simple fraction to children aged 4+ years old. (Disclaimer: We received a complimentary inspection copy of this book from the publisher/author.)
Recommended age range:
4+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
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.
