The very big sum by Adrian Dudek. Illus. by Naya Lazareva

The Very Big Sum is a surprise read. The text is quite lengthy but it cleverly rhymes and tells the story of two siblings who try to get out of doing chores by solving a huge mathematical problem set by their mum. They have to add up all the numbers from 1 – 100!

They begin by adding each individual number starting at 1 + 2 = 3, 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 and so on. BUT they realise this will take ages and they will never get outside to play.  They sneakily grab a calculator but mum is one step ahead and has removed the batteries. They then begin to think harder about the problem and look at other strategies for adding up so many numbers. In the end they come to a very clever solution and solve the problem in no time, impressing their mum.

This is an entertaining read and will encourage children to see if the children in the story calculated correctly.  The illustrations are delightful with bright colour and full of expression and definitely add to the busyness of the story, and the huge effort to solve the maths problem!

Themes: Rhyme, Mathematics, Addition, Multiplication, Family, Siblings.

Kathryn Beilby