Each Orange Had 8 Slices

by Paul Giganti Jr., Donald Crews (Illustrator)

Dynamic illustrations and appealing words combine to introduce beginning math concepts and reinforce visual literacy—"an exceptional introduction to mathematics."* Whether shared at home or in the classroom, t his picture book is a fun way to learn basic math concepts. "An unusually stimulating counting book that holds appeal for a wide spectrum of ages."— Publishers Weekly If each orange has 8 slices and each slice has 2 seeds, then how many seeds are there in all? You'll have fun multiplying, adding, and counting your way through the math puzzles hiding in the world all around you. Clear and colorful artwork by Donald Crews, the award-winning creator of  Freight Train  and  Truck , gives young readers helpful hints to solve the engaging and age-appropriate word problems. "The vibrant style of Crews's gouache artwork is well matched to this exceptional introduction to mathematics."— School Library Journal*

Genres: Mathematics, Picture Books, Counting, Childrens, Nonfiction, Multiplication, Addition

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Paul Giganti, Jr., teaches mathematics to teachers at the University of California at Berkeley. He is himself a graduate of UC Berkeley, with a degree in mathematics, and he taught in the public schools for fifteen years. He lives with his family in Albany, California.

Reviews

[Michele Stalmer]

This is a wonderful book to use in patterning, multiplication, and creative thinking! I use the book in my classroom in so many ways. We read it, then make up our own "Math Riddles" to put into our own class book. Example, Three fish had four fins each, with eight dots on each fin. How many fish? How many fins? How many dots altogether?

[John Yelverton · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is one part children's counting book and one part children's game of memory, but when combined makes for neither a good book nor game.

[Igor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The drawings are not so well made. Still it held my son's attention.

[Vo Khon · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's all question and a few illustrated to understand.
If just to describe the question, this book is ok.

[Kristiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for learning grouping and beginning multiplication. Worked great for 2nd grade math.

[Delta Litton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a series of mathematical problems presented in layers. Each problem is laid out the same way. For example, the first problem states that there are three flowers. Each flower has six petals and each petal has two tiny bugs. With every problem set, the book asks three questions about how many of each item there is. The book's final page contains a short poem that presents a mathematical problem with a trick answer. It contains cute illustrations showing what's being counted in each problem; a drawing of three flowers with six petals each and two bugs on each petal for my example. In the book, the numbers are represented by the numerals instead of being written out.
This book would be a good starting point to both get young kids to start thinking about numbers visually and to start them reading as all the words in the book are fairly simple. In addition, it could be used both as an introduction to addition for younger kids and as an introduction to multiplication for older kids. With the illustrations and the numbers being represented by numerals instead of words, this book would also be accessible for struggling readers.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a series of multiplication problems, with all answers being one or two digits.

On each left page, there is some initial number of objects, and then each object corresponds to some number of things, and each thing (or sometimes each object and each thing) corresponds to some number of widgets. (The objects, things, and widgets vary.) Then the next pages asks how many objects there are, how many things, and how many widgets.

For some kids, this would be a lot to do all at once. I could see only doing a couple of pages at a time.

The illustrations always show the correct number. Some of the pages use numbers that would be pretty big for a young kid (who perhaps hasn't seen multiplication) to count easily, though a kid who can skip count would be able to use that strategy most of the time.

[Sierra P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Counting Book

This is a great concept book. The quality of the text allows this book to be very adaptable to meet individual student comprehension, retention and understanding of text. This book moves through scenarios listing various organization and number relation. I see this book being an effective teaching practice in later preschool or kindergarten. This book is not focused on cardinal order, but rather introducing notions of multiplication and division properties. I find the illustrations to lack appeal for young readers, however the visuals are designed to help the reader solve the questions found in the text. I see this concept book being looked with a large group rather than individual students. The text would be a great resource to pull out of a classroom library and during Math class.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

"EACH ORANGE HAD 8 SLICES" by Paul Giganti Jr. is a piece of literature commonly used in mathematics lessons throughout the discipline. The book demonstrates different ways to count objects. The text provides large objects that can potentially have smaller pieces, which allows the reader to explore multiplication by rote and repeated addition as another form of multiplication. Personally, I would view the book from the grade level I planned to read it to. If reading it to a younger grade, I would focus on addition. If reading it to an older grade, I would focus on multiplication. Overall, this book provides many opportunities for young readers across the board. As an educator, it would help supplement a math lesson. As a subjective reader, it would serve the obvious purpose of teaching counting.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful way to introduce counting groups of items which then leads into basic multiplication. It is very colorful and children will enjoy counting each picture building the foundation to understand how multiplication “works”. I imagine it would best be suited in the classroom with second and third graders. After reading the book and answering the questions, students could make similar story problems with items in the classroom. For example, There are four tables and each table has four students. How many students are there? Students could illustrate their story problem.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a helpful math book that could be used to explain or practice adding multiple digits, introduce multiplication or division, and simple exercises with adding and basic counting. I think the purpose of this book is best suited for kindergarten through third grade level students.

[Ame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aw snap, there's some multiplication in here!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is on the harder side of counting, but my 5 & 7yo loved it. Was fun to help them count by 2s 3s and 5s

[Suzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 7 and 10 year olds had so much fun reading this and doing the multiplication problems. This would be a fun, and probably raucous, read aloud with a group of second or third graders!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great advanced counting book!

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

9 year old got to practice multiplication and skip counting.

4.5 year old got to practice counting past 20.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

really deals with multiplication or counting by sets of numbers - probably best for 2nd-3rd graders, but it's a picture book (which is misleading)

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

October 2016

[Jordan Smith]

Summary: This book is a math book which includes a variety of word problems that can be easily seen in real life situations. For example, it shows students riding on tricycles and bugs on flower petals. The word problems in the book are multiplication problems but they also can be solved using repeated addition. This book would be a great book to use while conducting a math lesson and would greatly benefit students who are visual learners because they would actually be able to see the pictures in the book to help them understand the math concept better.

Activity: This book is a 2.5 reading level, so I would most likely use this book in a 3rd grade classroom when introducing multiplication. I would first read the book and as I read we would solve the riddles together both with repeated addition and then with multiplication. After I read the book, I will then allow the students to get into pairs. In pairs, they will create a poster that is similar to the way in which the word problems are worded in the book. They will create their own word problem and draw a picture that represents the word problem. Once all of the posters are completed, each pair will present their poster to the class. As a class we will solve the word problems to see if we get the same answer that the original pair got. If the pair did not get the correct answer, I would then stop and go over the problem with the entire class and help them figure out why they got the answer wrong.

[Kaytlyn Witcher]

This book is a math book. It gives different word problems that can be easily seen in real life examples. These are multiplication problems but also can be used for repeated addition. This book will not only be good to use to instruct learning about math but also for students who are visual learners to understand math a little more.

Activity: This book is a 2.5 reading level. I would use this within a 3rd grade classroom when introducing multiplication. Up until 3rd grade my students would have learned repeated addition and counting. Building on those skills students will develop an understanding of basic multiplication. I would read the book and as I read we would solve the riddles together both with repeated addition and transitioning to multiplication. After I have read the book, I will allow the students to get in pairs. In pairs they will create a posters that represent the problems worded in the book. They will fill in the riddle with their own words and draw a picture that represents the math equation. Once all the posters are completed, each pair will present them to the class. As a class we will solve the problem to see if we get the answer the original pairs created. If the pair happens to complete incorrectly we will help guide them back on to the right path.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published- New York : Mulberry Books, 1999, c1992
ISBN- 0-688-10429-0
Illustrated by Donald Crews
Reading Level- 1st-3rd grade
Genre- Non-Fiction, Humor

This is a great counting books for young students learning how to count. Each page counts through a different picture, the first being 3 flowers with 6 petals each and 2 ants on each petal. The book then asks how many flowers were there? Then asks how many petals there were in all? Then how many ants in all? It's a great book to do a read aloud with kids who need to work on their counting skills. I also liked that each page was a different image. The part I liked the best was there is a riddle at the end of the book where a man is heading to St. Ives. He mentions passing 7 men each with a wife and each with a child, and then it asks how many people were heading to St. Ives? Since you're used to counting out the totals of things at that point you count out the total, only to realize that there is only 1 person going there, the one man.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful counting book introduces beginning math concepts through visual aids of bright colors, bolded numbers, and questions on every page relating to the text. On the left side of every page a scenario of objects is portrayed, "On my way to lunch I ate 2 juicy oranges. Each orange had 8 slices. Each slice had 2 small seeds." After reading this, the left side of the page presents questions, "How many juicy oranges were there?, How many slices were there?"

With every turn of a page, the reader is introduced to a new challenge! From basic counting, adding, and modeling, I believe this book has it all. It has the ability to be used as a reading aid on all levels.

Perhaps the most important aspect of education is being able to combine subject areas and real life situations. Studies have shown that children learn best when they can relate to what they are being taught. This book sets the stage for this characteristic of learning. After reading this story, they will walk away in a completely new frame of mind.

[Elena Hitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Each Orange Had 8 Slices does not follow any story; however, it teaches children how to count in a unique way. Each page offers a scenario then the text describes the scene. The next page asks questions about what is happening and how many objects there are total. A young child that is learning to count would find this book very useful because the illustrations match the text perfectly so they could answer the questions simply by counting the objects found in the scene. This book could also be helpful to older children that are working on multiplying. Each scene sets up a multiplication word problem so a child could practice his or her multiplying then check his or her answer by counting. I was not impressed by the illustrations, even though they are practical since the children could count to answer the presented questions. The illustrations are not pleasing to the reader’s eyes and some of them of very awkward. For example, the kids riding their tricycles on pages two and three look like their necks are broken because their heads are so twisted.

[Catherine Fevery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a counting book. It is in first person. Throughout the story the author brings up several different things that the child can count, such as books, trains, pictures and more. In the beginning, the author talks about going to the playground and seeing flowers with bugs on it. The book asks the reader questions for example, “How many bugs were on the pedals?”, and questions like that to get the child thinking about what they had just read. This is the perfect book for teaching children to count because they can see in the picture, what they are trying to count and then actually go and count out “bugs” or “pedals.” .This is an ideal book to have a child learning to count practice their counting and the illustrations keep the child entertained as well. It is a fun book for teaching children how to learn to count. It will take some time for the child to go through and count out each thing but they are learning as they turn the pages!

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun and educational book about math, counting and multiplication. The illustrations are colorful and help children figure out the answer in different ways. We really enjoyed reading through the different scenarios and figuring out the problems. Our girls took turns answering the questions and sometimes argued over who came up with the answer first. Overall, it's an interesting book and we even loved the math riddle at the end.

Note: there are clowns in one of the illustrations and they are just as creepy to me as ever. I have a particular dislike for clowns that I think I've had since childhood, but was certainly exacerbated by reading the book It by Stephen King. (shudder)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giganti's book, Each Orange Had 8 Slices, allows children to view counting, adding, and multiplying in a fun and exciting way! Every page allows the reader to be exposed to some tpye of object, and with that object a math related question is asked. Each page is likely to catch the attention of the reader based on the types of objects that were used and the fact that the illustrations and text were symmetrical. With this, it allows for several children to independently view thie story along and get a sense of what it is asking of them. Overall, I do find this story to be very appropriate for students as early as kindergarten to second or third grade when students begin to progress in their math concepts and begin to multiply!

[Carlie Engels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each Orange Had 8 Slices is an illustrated introduction to counting and simple addition. It would be a great book to read to primary readers. It is engaging and allows children to listen and answer the questions listed on each page. The book is made in landscape format. The cover is a dark blue color that complements the orange and yellows of the orange slices. The illustrations are done using gouache paints for the full-color art. The illustrations are full bleed double page spreads. The illustrations are large, allowing children to count the petals, balloons, orange slices, ect. The type face is Helvetica. I thought the poem at the end of the story was clever. Students should get a good laugh out of that one!

[Erica Johnson]

Each Orange Had 8 Slices is a counting book for children in kindergarden up to about second or third grade depending on their counting abilities. It gives a simple introduction into mathematics and the counting process. Each number being represented is boldly printed on each page to reinforce the number being counted. The illustrations are kept bright and simple to keep the young reader engaged. One aspect of the book that I really liked was the author included question on each pages such as, "How many trees were there? How many bird's nests were there? How many spotted eggs were there?" Not only does the author tell you the answer but he asks the question again to make sure the reader is understand the counting concept of the book!

[Lindsey Feldpausch · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was perfect for three different math levels. My girls are currently 7, 5, and 3. Each page had three questions that were well suited to each of their understanding. For example, one page asks how many houses there were and my preschooler could count the houses. Then it asked how many pots were there. I asked my kindergartner to make a math problem (3 pots plus 3 pots plus 3 pots =9 (because each house had 3 flower pots)). Then the book asked how many flowers there were. My oldest had to say 9 pots times 5 ( flowers in each). It was such a pleasure to have a book that engaged all three children! It is full of color so practicing colors and shapes with the little one was an added bonus!

[lprater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Counting Book: This colorful book can bring real world math problems alive for a reader in a fun and engaging way. Each page in the story begins with a patterned phrase, “On my way to…” followed by what the author saw. From ants on flower petals or eggs in bird nests nestled in trees, the reader can count the objects in the accompanying illustration to answer mathematical questions. I appreciated the use of number form in the book instead of the numbers in word form since young children would be able to recognize the symbols easier. The book could be used to introduce simple mathematical concepts to young students.