Splitting the Herd: A Corral of Odds and Evens

Math Is Fun!

by Trudy Harris, Russell Julian (Illustrator)

Miss Emma's cows just can't stay put! Each time they wander into Cowboy Kirby's yard, he uses odd and even numbers to count the herd. Then he sends all the evens back to Emma and keeps the odds for himself. Kirby doesn't notice that his herd keeps getting smaller while Emma's grows larger. Emma doesn't want to hurt her friend's feelings by explaining his math mistake. How will she solve their problem with odds and evens? Count on Emma for coming up with a surprise ending!

Genres: Mathematics, Picture Books, Childrens

31 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Trudy Harris, RN, is the New York Times bestselling author of Glimpses of Heaven and More Glimpses of Heaven, a former hospice nurse, and former president of the Hospice Foundation for Caring. Since retirement, Harris remains active in connecting the need

Reviews

[Fahula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute book to teach odd numbers and halving. My students enjoyed acting out the zany farmer’s mixed up math. They especially enjoyed the surprise ending.

[Makaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A love story involving maths! Odd and even numbers have never been funnier. When Kirby and Emma add to, subtract from, divide, and generally muddle their herds of cows. That is until Emma devises a perfect-and romantic solution.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book where neighboring farmers have to split their herds of cows everyday because they keep jumping the fence. The farmers count by even and odd numbers. But, the one farmer does the wrong math and gives the other too many cows each day. The story could provide good discussion for why the farmer is counting wrong, but the bad math might be confusing for younger readers. The strong rhyme and repetition in the story, as well as the goofy ending should appeal to kids.

[Kate Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grades K-2
--Miss Emma’s cattle escape into cowboy kirby’s field and they can’t tell them apart.
--decide to divide the herd in half, ten on each side.
--Miss Emma’s cows keep escaping, little by little, and each time Kirby has too many cows, he gives half to Emma.
--Students will see the error of his ways as his herd dwindles and he has an odd number of cows in his pasture. What to do??? (surprise ending that does NOT involve remainders!)

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a complicated read for teaching odds and even numbers to children in 2nd or third grade.
The reading level and word count are up there. The structure was interesting and the western theme of the story. Read this and several other math concept picture books to get to know the author's style.
She was to teach a writing class and has since dropped out of the workshop.

[Miekka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is supposed to help teach evens and odds, but I'm not sure it does a very good job. I would say it is an okay review book for someone who already knows what even and odds are. The story is cute though and the rhymes are nice. Ages 6 and up.

[Karina Espinales · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good rhyming book! The kids will love it because the setting is in a farm. It will be great to use to introduce even and odd numbers. It is about 2 farmers that keep on having problems with the animals running away to each others land.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great way to introduce a numbers/math concept. Not a book for storytime, but good one-on-one.

[The Library Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

The rhymes get pretty awkward, though the story has its moments. Another one for the shelf for parents who insist on incorporating a "teachable moment" into every second of their child's waking day.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

A counting book disguised as a cute book about cows. We are not amused.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun concept book about even/odd numbers. Rhyming scheme does not always work but there is a good story here and great educational potential.

[Alfajirikali · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a cute book, well illustrated, but we didn't feel it met the expectation of the math criteria.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun story with rhyming text, adorable pictures, cows and romance! Look for some Mother Goose action going on in the background and a math note at the end.