A Grain of Rice

Over 200,000 copies sold! This classic mathematical folktale tells the story of a clever farmer who outwits the Emperor of China and becomes the wealthiest man in the world all starting with one grain of rice.

When a humble farmer named Pong Lo asks for the hand of the Emperor s beautiful daughter, the Emperor is enraged. Whoever heard of a peasant marrying a princess?

But Pong Lo is wiser than the Emperor knows. And when he concocts a potion that saves the Princess s life, the Emperor gladly offers him any reward he chooses except the Princess.

Pong Lo makes a surprising request. He asks for a single grain of rice, doubled every day for one hundred days. The baffled Emperor obliges only to discover that if you re as clever as Pong Lo, you can turn a single grain of rice into all the wealth and happiness in the world!


Praise for A Grain of Rice:

Gracefully illustrated. . . . This original story set in fifteenth-century China will captivate readers and perhaps teach them a little about mathematics. Booklist

Clever and quietly told in simple, yet evocative language. Kirkus Reviews

Any young reader (with calculator handy) will enjoy the tale. Scientific American

[A] book that is wise and humorous, and one to be perused and savored. School Library Journal