One Hundred Hungry Ants By Elinor Pinczes, illustrated by Bonnie MacKain

Summary | Reviews | In the Classroom | Related Readings | Bulletin Board

Houghton Mifflin Company, ages 7-10

What could be better during summer time than a picnic? In this book, 100 hungry ants can think of nothing tastier. But when the trip to the food seems to be taking too long, one little ant decides to solve the problem. Single file is far too slow for these empty tummies, so the littlest suggests that they travel in two rows of 50, then four rows of 25 and so on. As the ants try to reorganize, thereby demonstrating some basic concepts of division, the fun really begins for the reader. With a catchy rhyme scheme and humorous illustrations, this bug story presents math in a fun and entertaining way.

Excerpts from Reviews

From The Horn Book
"The illustrations, which look like linoleum cuts, use a pleasing palette and energetic lines to depict ants with highly individual characters."

From Booklist
"The outcome's predictable but kids will enjoy the bouncy rhyme and the comical portrayal of the ants, while teachers will appreciate the entertaining demonstration of a math concept. The illustrations, which look like linocuts tinted with flat colors, have a distinctive style and a definite sense of humor."

In the Classroom

As you read the story aloud to the class, have students predict whether they think the littlest ant's suggestions will get the ants to the picnic sooner. Consider having students experiment with the ideas presented in the book by grouping themselves in different formations and moving from one point to another.

Group students and give each group a large piece of paper and colored stickers. Assign each group one of the ant's suggestions and have them re-create it using those materials. Have students decorate the paper with scenes from the book. Once they are finished, have students retell the story using their illustrated math facts. Display the math facts after students have written the numeric representation of the math fact at the bottom.
Use this story in conjunction with "The 100th Day of School" activities.

Have students create collections of 100 objects and write word problems about those objects.
Have students write and illustrate math stories about the ants. Encourage them to write stories with happier endings in which the ants are rewarded for their hard work and knowledge of math!

Readings for the Book Center:

As a follow-up to this book consider reading A Remainder of One, also by Elinor Pinczes and illustrated by Bonnie MacKain (Houghton-Mifflin Company). Students once again meet marching ants, but this time poor Joe is always left out of the formations. In two rows, three rows and even four rows, Joe is always the lone remainder. And this fact does not make the queen very happy. But when it is time to line up in five rows, Joe finally fits in and provides the reader with another entertaining lesson in division.