THE LAST MARSHMALLOW
Author: Grace Lin
Illustrator: Grace Lin
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Number of pages: 14
Publisher: Charlesbridge (USA) First published in: 2020 Format: Picturebook Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (Storytelling Math) Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, IND, CAN Synopsis by the author/publisher
After playing in the snow, Olivia and Mei are ready for cocoa. There's one marshmallow for Olivia and one marshmallow for Mei. But what will they do with the third marshmallow? How can two friends share three things fairly? The Storytelling Math series shows that all children can be mathematical thinkers. Each book includes ideas for exploring math at home with your children, developed in collaboration with math experts at STEM education nonprofit TERC Inc., under a grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation. |
“There's one left! Who gets it? I know! Pull! Half for me. Half for Mei. Now it's fair.”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Grace Lin’s ‘The Last Marshmallow’ (2020) is a part of Charlesbridge’s Storytelling Math series which promotes diversity (e.g., gender and ethnicity) in mathematical stories. This is a small 14-page board book about two young friends, Olivia and Mei, who have two cups of cocoa and three marshmallows to share between them. As expected, the question then arises when they have to decide how best to share the third and last remaining marshmallow. The story has a very simple storyline which is arguably appropriate for the very young readers that the story is meant for. Similarly, the amount of text per page is age-appropriate too. Like the other titles in the series, there are also a few activity ideas given at the back of the book. All in all, ‘The Last Marshmallow’ can be a useful story to introduce the concept of division to children, aged 3+ years old. (Disclaimer: We received a complimentary inspection copy of this book from the publisher/author.)
Recommended age range:
3+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Division
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.
Grace Lin’s ‘The Last Marshmallow’ (2020) is a part of Charlesbridge’s Storytelling Math series which promotes diversity (e.g., gender and ethnicity) in mathematical stories. This is a small 14-page board book about two young friends, Olivia and Mei, who have two cups of cocoa and three marshmallows to share between them. As expected, the question then arises when they have to decide how best to share the third and last remaining marshmallow. The story has a very simple storyline which is arguably appropriate for the very young readers that the story is meant for. Similarly, the amount of text per page is age-appropriate too. Like the other titles in the series, there are also a few activity ideas given at the back of the book. All in all, ‘The Last Marshmallow’ can be a useful story to introduce the concept of division to children, aged 3+ years old. (Disclaimer: We received a complimentary inspection copy of this book from the publisher/author.)
Recommended age range:
3+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Division
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.
