Once Upon a Dime

Charlesbridge Math Adventures

by Nancy Kelly Allen

Farmer Worth discovers that a special tree on his farm produces different kinds of money, depending on what animal fertilizer he uses.

Genres: Mathematics, Picture Books, Animals, Money, Childrens, Fiction

ebook

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Nancy Kelly Allen’s route to award-winning writing has more twists and turns than a winding mountain road. She worked as a social worker and elementary school teacher. When Nancy changed career paths once again and became a school librarian, the route led her straight to the world of picture books. Nancy spent her days introducing books to children and her nights writing books for children. Eventually, writing led her down the trail to publication. Nancy has seven picture books, one chapter book, and is working on more. Writing children’s books led her down another path: writing books for adults. Her first book for adults is told from the perspective of a child and spiced with humor.
Nancy grew up in Kentucky where storytelling is a way of life. Every evening after supper, her father entertained the family with humorous stories. Each time he told a story, he embellished it a little more. Nancy’s mother encouraged her young daughter to write stories, even before Nancy could read. Nancy pecked away on the keyboard of an old Royal typewriter, writing nothing but jumbled letters and numbers. Nancy proudly handed her work to her mother, who read it aloud as if Nancy had actually written a story. The early influence of her mother’s literary interpretations and her father’s humorous storytelling set Nancy on the road to creating worlds through books. Now that she’s all grown up, Nancy considers her love of writing a gift of the spirit from her parents.
Nancy has a master’s degree in Education from Morehead State University and a master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Kentucky. She lives in Kentucky in the log cabin in which she grew up. Nancy shares her cabin with her husband Larry and a canine writer assistants, Jazi and Roxi.

Reviews

[Becky B · Rating 2 out of 5]

A new tree sprouts up on farmer Truman Worth’s land. He puts specific fertilizer on it straight from his farm, and each year he switches the fertilizer the tree sprouts different increments of money. If fertilizer from chickens brings pennies, and fertilizer from pigs yields nickels, what will sheep, cow, or panda fertilizer yield? And what happens if they are mixed?

This book spans quite a number of years but the boy in it doesn’t seem to age very much. The book talks about organic fertilizer from the farm a lot, but never outright mentions it is poop they spread around the tree. It’s a story that is really weird if you think about it too much. The whole purpose is definitely the math stuff involved. (Multiplying and adding monetary amounts and problem solving which fertilizer yields which amount.) Pick it up for the math applications, not necessarily if you want a story.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once Upon a Dime: A Math Adventure is a clever and engaging picture book that combines both storytelling and mathematics. The author introduces young readers to important math concepts, making learning both entertaining and accessible. The book follows a young prince who sets out on a quest to find the perfect gift for his grandmother. Along the way, he encounters various characters who challenge him with math problems that he must solve to proceed. This would be a great book to keep on hand as a teacher because if you ever have a gap in your day, this book is a great one to read to students because it will help them practice their math skills. This story is so entertaining that children will not even realize they are learning. 

[Adeline Cantu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!!! It was such a great read, it is kind of a long book to have students sit through the whole thing without jittering but I think if we take breaks in between to have small discussions about what is going on and how math is being incorporated, I think that would be great for the students to stay engaged throughout the read-aloud. I really liked how many unique vocabulary words it has because it also gives us the opportunity to explain to our students what those words mean especially the math words.

[Michaela Klegseth · Rating 3 out of 5]

We all have heard the term that money doesn't grow on trees but for this farmer it kinds of does to calculate his crops. This book can be broken up into smaller activities and discussions based on the length. The math concepts are shown in a story way and so it is easier to learn and see the joy of counting. The value of money is portrayed but money is not the most important thing.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a stupid story.... what is the point? If there is any underlying moral to the story at all, it almost seems like the author is trying to say: Settle for being poor because it's easier and we're happier that way. I also don't see how it's "A Math Adventure". There is no math.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this fun math book during our down time before roadtrip..krb 8/14/17

[Whole And · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this math adventure, general for coin and decimal work in addition to a meaningful message about money's level of importance.
Thoroughly enjoyed the story and doing 'the work.'

[Peyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe that this would be a great book to have in any elementary school classroom. It teaches children the value of money, and how money is not the most important thing in life.

[Lexie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For 100 days of school, this would be a great book to read during math time to practice counting money!

[Emma Pruett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book to have to teach kids the value of money.

[Vera Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talks about a tree that grows each coin and then dollars. good math lesson book, adding all the coins and dollars and figuring out what makes it produce the most

[Annette Ruane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like that this book is about the adventures a boy has when he figures out that the fertilizer he uses to grow a tree effects the kind of money the tree grows. This book takes children through the adventures of money. In my experience children love adventures. I like this book because on top of being a math related text it also had a great story as well as introduced the topic of money. The pictures in the book were soft and joyful. This text can help build your knowledge on money. It would be a good book to introduce the value of money to your class and what change is worth more. It also would be a good introductory took to bring ask your students what do people in other countries use for money. Money and math are closely related. Even though this book is obviously fiction it is a fun play of the old saying “money doesn’t grow on trees”.

[Ryan Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever, whimsical tale of money that grows on trees. So many possibilities here--you can read it as it is, appreciating the wordplay and humor. You can teach social studies, as the animals' names are puns from historical figures. There's the math, adding up how much each crop is worth or determining what different fertilizer combinations would be worth. There's a message of plenty and contentment when the farmer decides to grow dimes for the sound, instead of maximizing the tree's earning potential. And the ending of the book ties into the importance of reading. I could see a response to literature writing prompt that would imagine what other items may grow on the tree, or what combinations would be most effective for ______. A lovely, lovely read.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best for kids ages 4 and up
Early Literacy Skills: Print Motivation, Vocabulary, Narrative Skills

From cover:
One day, Farmer Worth notices a little tree growing where nothing has ever grown before. He gives it organic fertilizer and finds out the money really does grow on trees!
Lewis and Cluck provide the chicken droppings. Dwight D. Oinkenhower provides the pig squish. And Moolly Pitcher provides the cow pies. Farmer Worth's young helper counts up the coins and dreams of more. Will he end up as happy as a pig in a puddle? What is the real value of Farmer Worth's crop?

Sweet illustrations accompany this interesting math story about adding up money.

[Taylor Munson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I believe that it describes how to handle money in a fun and exciting way. The story line also is something completely different than what I have seen before. The way that Nancy Allen presents the money tree is a good way children can see and relate objects with money. The illustrations are also captivating. I believe this book gives children a great way to learn to make change and handle money and the prices of objects. It also somewhat teaches them about the value of money. This is a great book for children to read!

[Benjamin Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was a lot of fun, and did some interesting things in terms of what it could do. It calls itself a math adventure, however, and I'm not sure why. Yes, there are a number of math problems readily available to solve if you wanted to work them out, but they aren't actually laid out in the book, and there are no indications of exactly what they are anywhere. There isn't even an index talking about the value of coins and dollars, etc. So I wouldn't call it a math adventure myself, but it was a fun story.

[Jelisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great math book to implement in the classroom when discussing value of money. This book can used in lessons that discuss coin value. This book can give students practice with counting pennies, nickels, and quarters and grouping them into whole dollar amounts. As an extension, students could practice operations with money (addition/subtraction) and creating their own word problems based on the book.

[Amber Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This narrative tells the story of a farmer who accidentally grows a money tree. During each year's harvest the tree produces more and more money. The young boy from the book collects the pennies, nickels, and dimes from the tree and counts them. I will use this book to help my students with counting money. They can create a tree if their own to paste money onto and calculate the money on the tree.

[Julia B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be an excellent way of incorporating math skills and coin value for lower elementary students. Students could practice counting up pennies, nickels, and quarters and grouping them into dollar amounts. As an extension, students could practice operations with money (addition/subtraction) and creating their own word problems based on the book.

[Bethann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very different than other books. It talks about a tree that grows money! It is everyone's wish come true! I think this book would be a good way to introduce children to money. After reading the story, you could talk to them about all the different forms of money. Using this book would benefit you, because it may get the students more interested in money.

[Angela Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a farmer growing a tree that grows money. When children are reading this book, they can count how much money the tree grew. Illustration is good for children and it uses lots of different colors which is more attractive to children.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a tree that grows different values of money. This is a good book to incorporate with a math lesson.

[Trista · Rating 3 out of 5]

A picture book used to teach math concepts.