How Many Ways Can You Cut a Pie?

Magic Castle Readers

by Jane Belk Moncure, Linda Hohag (Illustrator)

Squirrel promises to divide her pie into sections for her animal friends if she wins the pie contest.

Genres: Mathematics, Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, 1st Grade, Autumn

31 pages, Library Binding

First published November 1, 1987

About the author

Jane Belk Moncure (born December 1926) is an American author of early childhood non-fiction, fiction and poetry. She has also written under the names Bruce Wannamaker and Jennie Davis.

Moncure has lived in Virginia and North Carolina. She worked in early childhood education for thirty-five years. She lives in Elon College, North Carolina.

Moncure is a creative and prolific author: there are millions of her books in circulation, and they are widely distributed in schools and libraries. Distribution has been primarily through The ChildsWorld, ChildrensPress and Scholastic. Her creations and works include My First Steps to Reading, My First Steps to Math, My First Steps to Science, Word Bird, The Soundbox Books, and The Magic Castle Series. Her works have been translated into British English, Spanish, French, Chinese, and Malay. Belk Library, Elon University holds a collection of all published books by Moncure.

Jane Belk Moncure is a recipient of the C.S. Lewis Award and over the past 20 years, her works were recognized by numerous Awards. Most recently, in 2008, Jane received the Scholastic Teacher's Choice Award for her outstanding contribution to the My First Steps to Learning Program. --from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Daniel Barrows]

Ages 6-9. Useful primarily for learning fractions. Story also features themes of sharing, rectifying a mistake, fairness. Not very interesting for adults.

[Lady reading under the Willow]

Hmm, the problem-solving here is a bit dubious. Pig should have apologized for stealing and devouring the first pie. And she certainly ought not to have eaten any of the second pie. Although, Squirrel does demonstrate grace by her generosity to Pig, even after Pig had wronged her. Did Pig reform in after-days? 🤔 Questionable, but let's give her the benefit of the doubt and say we hope so.

My kiddo enjoys this series of books. Some are pretty twaddly but this one is okay.

[Isabelle]

Grade: 1-3rd
Genre: Fiction/Educational (math)
I honestly did not even know that they made children's books that integrate math into them, so that was interesting for me. I think that this is a great way of interdisciplinary teaching and is a good way of keeping students actively engaged in the content.

[Jessie]

The math of division isn't even really in this book. There's an unnecessary (double?) frame to the story. And Pig has already had a whole pie! Getting another quarter pie in the second pie isn't even at all!

[Faith Davis]

PreK-2nd
Nonfiction
This book teaches basic math concepts, and students learn about fractions, equal parts, and sharing. This story connects math to real life, so students can understand more and relate. This story also builds problem-solving skills while making math fun.

[Paxton Baker]

Contemporary realistic fiction, 1-4
This book is pretty underwhelming, but it's good to teach math and fractions. I liked how it used pie to describe fractions and the ways you can cut a pie. I would probably have this in my classroom library.

[ConnieLettow]

Nice early reader that is also a living math book.

[Grace]

Educational & Enjoyable.

[Valerie Doherty]

Terrific book to introduce some math concepts to young children in this delightful read.

[Sherry Scheline]

Great little math learning book. Fun for the kids.

[a.quiet.little.library]

So cute 🥺

[Jenna]

a classic 😌

[Tara]

French version

[Jessica Warner]

Realistic
Pre-K - 2nd grade reading level
This book is good to read before you start teaching your students about fractions, to catch their attention. It gives them a glimpse of what is to come in the unit. Also, it would be fun to have a day where you cut pies of pizzas into pieces as an activity for this book.

[Alexandra Burkholder]

Kindergarten to 2nd
Genre: informational
This book uses cute characters to explain mathematical fractions. I really like this book because of how well the pictures are drawn. The narration is limited, but the pictures really tell the story. The pictures feel homey and warm. There is a good moral lesson in this book as well. Even if you make a mistake, you can fix it if you apologize!

[Lisa]

I have lost count of how many times we have read this together, enough for it to be nearly memorized and it is a fair length book. I love how it gently introduces fractions and sharing. I also really appreciate it demonstrates righting a wrong which is a concept we're teaching to our youngest.

[Avery Woods]

Genre: Modern Fantasy
Grades: PreK-2
I thought this book was very cute! Not only did this book have a very cute story line but it also had a great educational lesson on fractions. I loved how this book did an amazing job of illustrating how objects can be broken up into different parts to create fractions! This book would be perfect for introducing fractions and make for a very fun lesson.

[Ella Sherwood]

modern fantasy K-1st
This book is a fun way to introduce some math into the classroom while also having a fun plot. The book has many examples of cutting a pie into thirds, fourths, and a half. This book can easily be used to introduce fractions to first-time learners.

[Lauren Owens]

This is a fraction book that illustrates the idea of fractions as sharing and containing equal parts. At the back of the book, it shows pies cut into the following fractions: whole, halves, thirds, and fourths. The story is very sweet. It also taps into the subjects of social behavior and emotions that are appropriate when things don't go as planned. I have paired this book with dividing counting bears into the many fractions addressed in this book.

[Tahya Bruce]

This book is an informational book that teaches kids about fractions and it uses a pie to do so. I would not recommend this book to read to a class. I would recommend this book to read as more of a one-on-one type of book or a book you would read to a kid throughout the day. The book has really cute illustrations so kids would read it and love the pictures. It is an easy read and would even be a good book for a kid who is just starting out to read.

[Chloe Smith]

Genre: Informational Text/Modern Fantasy
Grade Level: 1st - 2nd
A cute book that brings in mathematical measurement is a practical, real life scenario. The pictures and characters are so fun and it is an easy book for readers and students to easily engage with and have some fun conversations. The window reading page, page 1, is still confusing but if you figure out what it is for and how it ties to the story, let me know!

[Evan D]

Did it HAVE to be Pig who ate up all the pie? Way to stereotype.

[Teri]

Fun story to introduce fractions.

[Deborah Harris]

AR Quiz No. 26346 EN Fiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: LG - BL: 2.1 - AR Pts: 0.5
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP, RV

[Katie Carlisle]

I LOVE this book to use when introducing fractions to fractions! Allows students to gain a deeper understanding through the illustrations and frustrations the characters face.

[Kymberly]

This is a cute book. Great start on reading and fractions.

[Theresa]

How Many Ways Can You Cut a Pie?
Moncure, Jane Belk
a great early reader series shows math

[Jasmine Olivia]

Jasmine can read this book and do the math by herself. She's a very smart 5 year old.