I would use this book for a 3rd grade class when discussing multiplication. As a class, we would form ant lines like they had in the book (2 lines of 50 ants, 4 lines of 25 ants, 5 lines of 20 ants). I would then ask the students if there are other ways that the ants could divide up into lines with an equal amount of ants in each line? We would then discuss why the ants could not divide into an equal group of 3 lines, 6 lines, etc.

Wonderful book for using student's "double" knowledge through division. Can be used for 2nd and possibly 3rd graders. Unifix cubes could be used for tactile manipulating and representation. Students can follow with manipulatives as the teacher reads the story. Then go backwards and double the cubes until they get to 100. Also, teeacher could have students do similar activity while using multiples of 3, 4, or 5.

100 ants march to the picnic. Can they get there faster? They decide to march two by two. But they're still not getting there fast enough. They march in rows of five... still too slow. Rows of ten? They finally get to the picnic, but all the food has been carried away already and the ants get nothing!

Text to Text Connection
This story has the same mathematical content as The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins. They both involve concepts of division and eating food, except the ants took too long figuring out how they were going to divide and missed out on the food! They also both involve coming up with different strategies of counting, working together and using communication skills.

What a cute book! I haven't read many children's books that incorporate math in a fun way but this one is by far one of the best! A group of one hundred ants divide into smaller lines in hopes of getting to a picnic quick enough to get some food. It can be used to introduce and reinforce mathematic concepts. It gives children visuals to understand math concepts such as grouping and ultimately multiplication, division, addition and subtraction. The repetition and rhyming in the book is catchy and engaging!

1. Rating: 4
2. A book review from Publisher's Weekly says, "A rhyming text describes the progress of one hundred ants marching toward a picnic. To travel faster, one ant suggests dividing into two lines of fifty, then four lines of twenty-five, and finally ten lines of ten. Their frantic reorganization takes so long that the picnic is gone by the time they arrive. The illustrations, which look like linoleum cuts, use a pleasing palette and energetic lines to depict ants with highly individual characters."
3. This is a fun, rhythmic book about 100 ants marching to a picnic. They try splitting up into two lines of 50 to get to the picnic faster but that doesn’t work. Then they try four lines of 25, five lines of 20, and 10 lines of 10 but by the time that they get to the picnic everything is gone and there is nothing left for their growling tummies. A good book to read aloud when teaching grouping in math.

I really liked this book as a kid.

The plot of Elinor J. Pinczes' novel One Hundred Hungry Ants centers on a troop of 100 ants that are attempting to reach a picnic. One tiny ant keeps halting the others and arranging them into different rows that represent methods to multiply by 100. This book is a fantastic method to incorporate math into reading or reading into math. This book is a fantastic resource for aiding in multiplication or division. A sentence that appears often in this book will persuade students to take it up and read it for themselves. I'll have a copy of this book to use in my mathematics and reading courses. The pictures do a superb job of enhancing the narrative and illuminating the multiplication tables.

Really cute! Poor little ant, he was just trying to help.

This story would be enhanced with a big stop sign on a stick that could be held up each time the little ant calls out.

I have read many children’s books that help children deal with solving math problems by presenting the concept in a creative and fun way. But, I will admit that I have not read any math book quite like this one! “One Hundred Hungry Ants” is a children’s book written by Elinor J. Pinczes along with illustrations by Bonnie MacKain that deals with solving division math problems and it is an excellent way to help children solve division problems in a fun and creative way!

The book starts off with one hundred hungry ants heading towards a picnic site, determined to fill their stomachs with the delicious food ahead of them. But, then the smallest ant kept asking the other ninety-nine ants to divide into several groups of one hundred such as dividing into two lines of fifty and four lines of twenty-five, while delaying their time in getting to the picnic site.

n  Will the one hundred ants make it to the picnic in time?

Read this book to find out!n

Wow! Such a simple and innocent picture book and yet one that packs so much humor and clever rhyming schemes that I was totally blown away by this book! Elinor J. Pinczes’ writing is extremely creative and hilarious to read as I was laughing my head off with the small ant’s determination to help make the group of ants move much faster to get to the picnic area. I really loved the many different ways that the ants formed up into groups such as being into two lines of fifty or four lines of twenty-five as it makes it easier for smaller children to understand how to do division and it is also creative enough for children to participate in the fun of the ants’ determination to get to the picnic area.
Bonnie MacKain’s artwork is creative and hilarious to look at as the artwork is scratchy and yet all of the ants (and the other animals) look so cute on each page. I especially loved the images of the other animals taking the food away from the picnic while the ants were too busy trying to organize themselves in lines to really notice this and it makes me laugh and feel a little sorry for the ants at the same time!

Overall, “One Hundred Hungry Ants” is a brilliant book that teaches children how to have fun with doing division problems and is hilarious enough to keep many children entertained for years!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

A cute little tale of a hundred ants marching towards food. And to teach children multiplication while at it.