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

I read this book to a second grade class during the school's love of reading week. The students enjoyed the book and I could see them working the problem out in their heads. This book made the students think.

Though this book is a great teaching tool for money it does lack in a plot. There is no real climax or major issue to solve. The story line is basically the Pigs need to find money to eat and that is it.


I like this book   April 19, 2004
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I read this book to a 3rd grader. His class was using money in their math problems. I think he saw this as a fun way to work on math.

PIMA community college student


Pigs Will Be Pigs   April 16, 2004
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I loved this book! The kids I read it to also loved it. They really got into it. They tried to guess how much money the pigs would find and they were adding up the money as the pigs found it. They liked the menu when the pigs were at the restaurant because they were pretending that they were ordering too. But they were also figuring what the pigs could order to not go over their budget. They really enjoyed the drawings. I would recommend this book for kids because it's fun and educational.


Pigs Will Be Pigs   May 27, 2003
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

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.


Excellent Entertainment   October 5, 2002
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This book will entertain for 4 through 9 years old. This pig family would like to go out to eat but they don't have any money. So they start looking for money. They look in the basement, bedrooms, and closet. The color pictures were excellent.