Pigs Will Be Pigs: Fun with Math and Money (Aladdin Picture Books) (Paperback)

by Amy Axelrod (Author), Sharon McGinley-Nally (Illustrator) "The Pigs were hungry. . .again..." (more)
Key Phrases: southwestern rice

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Few picture books illustrate the "capitalist pig" concept as graphically as this mathematics-based volume does with its glorification of greed and gluttony. After gobbling up all the groceries, Mr. Pig, Mrs. Pig and their two piglets are hungry again, but the Piggy bank is empty. Deciding to hunt for money, the four swine gesture excitedly; then they feverishly root through their home for loose change and bills. Readers are meant to keep a tally of the dimes and nickels the Pigs locate, but they may be misled by the monetary sums planted in the illustrations (on one spread, the text describes a find worth $2.67, but the figures $2.32, $4.22 and $2.81 appear in the art; these numbers, we learn at the end, are part of a suggested math problem). Finally, after finding a grand total of $34.67, the Pigs spend almost all of it at a Mexican restaurant--math whizzes can calculate the tab by reading a menu. Although Axelrod's debut undoubtedly encourages useful skills, it is singularly unappetizing, while McGinley-Nally's ( First Snow, Magic Snow ) pudgy, stylized pigs and Southwestern motif seem garish. Kids probably won't have the patience for this book, and parents won't have the stomach. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3-In this bright and bouncy concept book, the Pigs turn their house upside down looking for spare change so that they can go out to dinner. Readers are invited to count along as the porkers dig out cash from the socks drawer, pennies from under the bed, quarters from the closet, and a five-dollar bill from the washing machine. Answers are hidden in the illustrations. The Pigs' reward is a trip to the Enchanted Enchilada. The whole menu is reproduced, complete with prices, so readers can figure out what the family can afford to eat and how much money they will have left over. A final page recaps all the amounts and shows the multiplication and addition necessary to find the answers. The vibrant illustrations are done in yellow, turquoise, pink, orange, and green. Those hues, along with the cacti in the yard and the Mexican restaurant, give the book a Southwestern flair. The Pigs are wildly dressed, from the daughter's fishnet stockings to the father's floppy black-and-white bow tie. After they have heard the story once, children will enjoy going back and studying the pictures. An entertaining tool for reinforcing math skills that should be especially useful in a whole-language curriculum.
Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689812191
• ISBN-13: 978-0689812194
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #32,664 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pig Out!, August 28, 2000

By	M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Pigs Will Be Pigs: Fun with Math and Money (Hardcover)

This is very amusing, as well as instructive; I found its humor as important to the book as its potential educational value. Sure, you get all kinds of opportunities to count money, make change, convert nickels, pennies, dimes, and quarters--but there's much more!

Great big colorful pictures that can be enjoyed en toto or through the (sometimes hidden) details, abundant irony and sloth, and, yes, a wonderfully creative menu (with food descriptions and prices) from the "Enchanted Enchilada," the restaurant where the pigs pig out after a money hunt in their cluttered home. Your kids may even get a new, humorous, appreciation for the words "this room looks like a pigsty!"

This is all good-natured, non-preachy fun for younger elementary school kids. It's a fun way to practice simple math problems, as well as just a good story filled with color and imagination.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pigs Will Be Pigs, May 26, 2003

By	Jay - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pigs Will Be Pigs: Fun with Math and Money (Hardcover)

When a family of pigs has eaten all of their food, they decide to go out to eat, but first, they must find some money. All of the family members turn the house inside out in their pursuit of a few dollars with which to buy dinner. Different pigs find different combinations of coins and bills before going off to the restaurant. Looking at the menu, the pigs must make decisions about how much food they can afford to buy and how much they will have left over. Each time, the reader is not given the amounts, and the back of the book includes drawings of the money and the equations showing their total amounts.

This book has a lot of possibilities for student's to learn to use money. For example, with or without manipulatives, students can be asked to find the amounts that various family members find as they find them, and also keep a running total. When at the restaurant, students can also view the menu, and select what they and some friends would order and how much they would have left over. Finding other combinations of coins and bills with the same total could extend the activity.

Why 4 stars?:
I had to take a point off for having a very weak and uninteresting plot line. However, the math elements that can be tied into the illustrations and the concepts dealing with money are top-notch. This book is excellent for activities dealing with counting and the addition and subtraction of money.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pigs will be Pigs, November 14, 2004

By	Thumper "Mom" (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

A very creative way to teach money concepts. I liked the way the book reviews the way to make change. I read this to a group of 3rd graders. I don't know that they found the book entertaining, but it did help them review money. I think 2nd graders would probably enjoy the story more, but may not understand all of the math concepts as well as the third graders.
I thought the part with the pigs trying to figure out what they could buy etc was a great way to show children how important it is to understand money. Coin especially can be difficult for children (a quarter is the same as two dimes and a nickel, etc).
I would definitely use this book as a review, or an extention to a lesson, not an introduction to money.