Book Review: Lion’s Share by Matthew McElligott

lion shareThe Lion’s Share: A Tale of Halving Cake and Eating it, Too is a story of an ant who is invited to have dinner with the lion. When she gets there, she is horrified by the manners and terrible eating habits of all the other guests. Cake is served for dessert, and each animal cuts the cake in half and then passes it to the next animal. Finally a tiny piece gets to the ant, where it crumbles into pieces. Ant decides to bake a cake for the lion as her gift the next day. Not to be outdone by a meesly ant, each guest boastfully announces that they will bake twice the number of cakes. “I can top that, announced the macaw. I shall bake the king twice as many carrot cakes: eight! And he shall have them tomorrow.”  Colorful and bold ink and watercolor illustrations bring each page alive. I personally hope this book gets a Caldecott nomination. Kids will love the great storyline,pictures, and humor,  parents will appreciate the messages of manners and thoughtfulness, and teachers will love using this book to teach fractions and doubling. Available for checkout soon in the AG  Bell library! Review by Mrs. Hembree