Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar
by Mitsumasa & Masaichiro Anno

Simple text and pictures introduce the mathematical concept of factorials.

Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar is a classic story that takes readers inside a mysterious jar to find a sea, islands, countries... The book is several decades old but it remains popular for teaching factorials. (Truthfully, we don't use this book in our own classrooms, but some teachers have written in and suggested that we add it to the multiplication books list.)

This book will work for a range of ages/grade levels because lower grades (ie Grade 3 - 4) can enjoy the story and only attempt the multiplication of the first few levels. Upper grades can take the multiplication much further. The final product is a surprisingly large number.

In their reviews, School Library Journal said "If you want a book that does a good selling job on the factorial concept, this one works." And Horn Book said "The book moves logically and elegantly from the concrete to the abstract."

Reading Levels
Interest Level:   Grade 1+
Grade Level Equivalent:  3.1
Lexile Measure:  380L