Art Coulson is Cherokee from Oklahoma and comes from a family of
storytellers. Some of his earliest memories are of listening to
stories and reading books on his grandmother's lap. Art now writes
his own books for young readers, including Unstoppable- How Jim
Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated Army.
He lives with his family in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Madelyn Goodnight is a member of the Chickasaw Nation, whose work
reflects her love of childhood. She holds a degree from Rhode
Island School of design and lives in Oklahoma. She is the
illustrator of The Pear Tree. www.madelyngoodnight.com
Through investigation, Bo discovers the perfect container to
display his marble collection at the Cherokee National Holiday
festival.
For months, Bo has worked hard on painting round stones to make
homemade marbles. He is finally old enough to sell them at his
family’s craft booth. His grandma, Elisi, says there is only so
much space at the table so he will need to find something to hold
the marbles. She sends him to “look around. Just don’t make a big
ol’ mess!” Bo hunts through the boxes in his room, but nothing is
big enough. When he finds a large tray, Elisi says, “Tla.…Our booth
is small. Your container needs to fit on this mat.” Bo carries the
mat around the house, experimenting with containers of different
shapes and sizes. He dumps out the contents of a ribbon box, a tool
crate, and a tall vase, but nothing works. He is about to give up
and ask for help when he empties the contents of a basket. His
marbles fit perfectly! Elisi’s house is a mess, but Bo has found
just the right container to show and sell his homemade marbles.
Incorporating snatches of Cherokee, Coulson’s (Cherokee) tale
conveys the challenges of estimating volume even as it develops
three-dimensional characters and their affectionate relationship.
Goodnight’s (Chickasaw) illustrations are lively and full of
details specific to Cherokee culture. This fun, math-inspired story
will empower children to keep trying until they succeed.
—Kirkus Reviews
Everybody seeking math books for kids should invest in the
Storytelling Math series. Look, Grandma! Ni, Elisi! is one entry in
the series, introducing spatial concepts like volume and area in
the tale of a Cherokee boy named Bo determining how to show off his
traditional marbles for the Cherokee National Holiday. The book
incorporates Cherokee words while it also demonstrates the kind of
mathematical thinking kids can do in their own lives. Other entries
in the series investigate concepts like division, estimation,
measurement, and more.
—Book Riot
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