10 for Dinner

by Jo Ellen Bogart, Carlos Freire (Illustrator)

Margo's having a birthday party and she invites ten friends to join her in the celebration. On the day of her party, five of her guests show up right on time; four others are a quarter of an hour late - and one shows up over an hour early - wearing a Halloween costume! The other nine guests wear casual party clothes like jeans and western shirts, but this oddball is dressed up like a devil, in a bright red suit complete with horns and a pointed tail!The party gets underway, and Margo watches with nine of her guests how the odd-ball guest eats the strangest food, sings the oddest songs, and wants to play games that none of them have ever heard of. Finally, the time comes for Margo to open her birthday presents. Nine of her friends give her nice gifts like socks, a jump rope, even a harmonica. But nobody's gift is as big or as special as the one presented to her by her guest dressed up like a devil. And guess what? When the party is over, five of Margo's friends ride away in cars, four other ride bikes or walk, but only one stays to help Margo with the dishes - and that one, though he may seem like an oddball, is her best friend of all.For anyone who loves a party, Jo Ellen Bogart's easy-to-read story will seem all too familiar - and funny. Carlos Freire's hilarious cartoon illustrations capture all the antics of Margo's party and will encourage beginning readers to count along with Margo as her guests arrive. What a birthday party! And Margo and her friends, especially the good-hearted oddball dressed like a devil, certainly know how to have a good time.

Genres: Mathematics, Picture Books, Counting, Childrens

Paperback

First published June 1, 1989

About the author

Jo Ellen Bogart has written 20 books for young readers, including The White Cat and the Monk, which was named a Best Poetry Book by the National Council of teachers of English. Her bestselling books include Jeremiah Learns to Read, Daniel's Dog, and Gifts. Jo Ellen has won the Ruth Schwartz Award and has been shortlisted for the Mr. Christie's Book Award.

Reviews

[Jennifer Schroeder vater · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun lesson for math, also a lesson in being early for an event, being funny and being kind.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of numbers, probably a good read for early addition learning.

[Katie Williams]

A girl has a party, but one guest decides to come over early and leave late. He wears his Halloween costume and plays weird games. He does, however, help her wash the dishes at the end. A math lesson could include having students role play the story after reading the story, but instead of following the story exactly they would come up with their own silly way of telling it. The teacher would supervise and give out addition/subtraction/multiplication/disvion problems while the students act the story out. For example, Stacy invited fifteen friends over. Four friends (can use student names instead) decided to show up early and five friends were late, who was on time? The students watching the show would give the answers.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Margot decided to invite ten of her friends over for her birthday party. We find out that all of her friends prefer different things, especially one little boy who never picks the same thing as anyone else. Margot explains what kinds of food her guests like to eat, what they like to sing, their mode of transportation to and from her house, their outfits, times of arrival, and what games they prefer to play. Each category adds up to ten, so it might be a good book to show students that different numbers add up to make the number ten.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margo invites 10 friends for her birthday dinner. 9 of them are perfectly normal, and the 10th is persistently... different. HE shows up an hour early. HE wants to play, instead of tag or hide-and-seek, "Double dirty no-hands blindfolded marbles". HE wears his halloween costume when everybody else is in the normal range of party clothes.

But he's the one who stays to help wash the dishes, too :)

I'm not sure why this is one of my favorites, but it sure is.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun book to read aloud. Margo is having a birthday party and is inviting 10 friends. Throughout the book, children have an opportunity to add numbers up to ten as she describes what everyone wears, what hats they make, what presents they give, what food they eat, and even their mode of transportation going home. The oddball friend throughout the story winds up being the best friend of all.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Margot has 10 guests coming for her party. Everyone has different tastes, and so there are a variety of different groups formed for who eats what snack, who likes which songs, and what kinds of presents they bring.

A good book for kids learning to add up to 10 in a variety of ways. Would also be a good book to use when learning about making graphs. The illustrations do scream 80s, but I'm not sure if kids will care.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margo invites her friends over for her birthday. They all choose different snacks and give some presents, but throughout the entire party, she has one friend who is a little strange. Come the end of the party, she learns that strange friends can be some of the best friends.

The story also reads a little like a math problem if you want to use it that way.

[Kelly Whelchel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would not use this book in my room. All though it could be used with counting, I felt as it confused the students. In ever scenario, there was one person standing out. He just confused me and I didn't like it. Also they pictures were rough.

[Julia Buffington]

Margo invites 10 friends to her birthday party. This book involves a lot of counting and one trouble maker. The trouble maker ends up helping in the end. This is a great book for kids to interact and relate to.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

great for teaching number combinations

[Azriana Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margo invites 10 friends for dinner, but one is extremely...different. This book can serve as an introduction to number combinations.