Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant- front cover, illustrated by Christina Wald. Published by Arbordale Publishing.
Through Songju Ma Daemicke’s writing, I have decided that reading about math is way more interesting than the actual doing of math. Math has never been my forte so reading Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant was intriguing. Even I wondered how in the world is he going to weigh an elephant?
Songju takes us back in time, about 2,000 years ago, to the Han Dynasty. Here we meet six-year-old Chong, son of Prime Minister Cao Cao. It is his father’s birthday and he receives a gift from the emperor of the Wu Kingdom.
“In the great courtyard outside the palace, the ambassador of the Wu Kingdom guided a huge, grey beast toward the anxiously waiting Cao Cao, his advisors, and hundreds of guests.”
Yes! His present is an elephant! There was much excitement because an elephant had never been seen before in their country. Chong couldn’t help himself and ran up to hug this new creature.
The people are amazed at its trunk, its legs, and its size! They start to estimate and bet on the weight of the elephant. One advisor bets his best piece of jade while another wagers his best silver cup.
None of the guesses are of any use because they have no way to even weigh the elephant!
“‘This elephant is not only a birthday present, but also a challenge to the intelligence and power of our country and its people.’”
After much debate, they realize they do not have a scale big enough, room to build a big enough scale, no way to balance the elephant, and they don’t want to have to chop up the elephant in order to weigh it. Then Chong whispers to his father that he may know the way. His father agrees to try his son’s experiment.
I won’t give away how Chong weighs the elephant, but I will tell you it was successful. Like I said before, math is not how my brain works and as I read I thought “no way is this going to work”. Then it did! If you are a math genius then you have probably figured out how Chong weighed the elephant. If you’re not, let’s just say Chong used a mechanical scale and the principle of buoyancy.
“‘Good thinking, my son! By solving the riddle of the elephant’s weight, you have proved our intelligence not only to the Wu Kingdom, but also to the whole world.’”
I really enjoyed Daemicke’s book. I had never heard of Cao Chong. I also thought it was interesting that, at one point, there weren’t elephants in China. The backmatter is also intriguing and will keep your children learning. There are simple activities and I’m not just saying that - they really are simple and doable.
Homeschool families, you will love this book! The story itself along with what it teaches: children are born persons, meaning we value children and have a high opinion of them. Cao Cao. his advisors, and the other guests demonstrate this belief by not shushing Chong. They allow Chong to demonstrate his idea. A six-year-old boy knew the way!
Another reason to love this book is that you could use it as a unit study. Between the story itself and the backmatter, you have reading, math, geography, history, and science. Yes, this book runneth over with so much good stuff!
Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant is printed in seven languages and is available through the publisher and Amazon. Click on the book cover above to order a copy for your family. Also, head to Daemicke’s website to view teaching activities that go along with the story.
I highly recommend Daemicke’s books. Check out my previous review on her most recent book, Tu Youyou's Discovery: Finding a Cure for Malaria, and definitely add Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant and A Case of Sense to your library.