The Doorbell Rang
About the Book
The Doorbell Rang is an ironic book of patterns and repetition. Ma has baked a plate of cookies for her two children to share and is now trying to wash the floor. The children divide the cookies up evenly between them when the doorbell rings and more children to share their cookies with arrive. The floor continues to get dirtier and the cookie count continues to drop as the door bell continues to ring and everyone continues to remark "no one makes cookies like Grandma!"
Hutchins, P. (1986). The doorbell rang. New York: Greenwillow Books.
The Doorbell Rang is an ironic book of patterns and repetition. Ma has baked a plate of cookies for her two children to share and is now trying to wash the floor. The children divide the cookies up evenly between them when the doorbell rings and more children to share their cookies with arrive. The floor continues to get dirtier and the cookie count continues to drop as the door bell continues to ring and everyone continues to remark "no one makes cookies like Grandma!"
Hutchins, P. (1986). The doorbell rang. New York: Greenwillow Books.
Overall Literacy & Mathematics Content:
Age appropriateness: Independent/Instructional level.
Illustrations: Extend text; the pattern of the story and the division of the cookies each time a new guest arrive is
clear through the illustrations. In addition, Ma continueing to clean the floor as it gets dirtier and dirtier is
evident through the illustrations but not mentioned throughout the text.
Visual Features: Guests always entering to the right of the page, another pattern that makes following the storyline
easy.
Theme: Sharing with guests, irony, division.
Front/Back Matter: Basic description of plot on back of book.
Age appropriateness: Independent/Instructional level.
Illustrations: Extend text; the pattern of the story and the division of the cookies each time a new guest arrive is
clear through the illustrations. In addition, Ma continueing to clean the floor as it gets dirtier and dirtier is
evident through the illustrations but not mentioned throughout the text.
Visual Features: Guests always entering to the right of the page, another pattern that makes following the storyline
easy.
Theme: Sharing with guests, irony, division.
Front/Back Matter: Basic description of plot on back of book.
Literacy Elements:
Storyline: Easily understood; guests continue to arrive until each character can only have one cookie each,
all while Mama tries to clean the floor that keeps getting dirtier and dirtier.
Readability Score: Level D (stories more complex with more than one episode within simple plot, illustrations
support but move to a new role of enhancing meaning, sentences carried acrossed pages)
Writing Style: Easy to follow because of the repeating phrases and pattern of the plot.
Authentic or Fictionalized: Authentic, this ironic story is realistic fiction and could happen. What a great way
to teach your child how to share and be polite to guests!
Textual Features: Repetition ("the door bell rang"; "no one makes cookies like Grandma")
Storyline: Easily understood; guests continue to arrive until each character can only have one cookie each,
all while Mama tries to clean the floor that keeps getting dirtier and dirtier.
Readability Score: Level D (stories more complex with more than one episode within simple plot, illustrations
support but move to a new role of enhancing meaning, sentences carried acrossed pages)
Writing Style: Easy to follow because of the repeating phrases and pattern of the plot.
Authentic or Fictionalized: Authentic, this ironic story is realistic fiction and could happen. What a great way
to teach your child how to share and be polite to guests!
Textual Features: Repetition ("the door bell rang"; "no one makes cookies like Grandma")
Math Elements:
Evidence of accuracy: Patterns, problem solving, division, subtraction; correct numbers used as each division and
subtraction equation take place when new friends arrive.
Evidence of accuracy: Patterns, problem solving, division, subtraction; correct numbers used as each division and
subtraction equation take place when new friends arrive.
After Reading Subtraction Activity
After reading The Doorbell Rang, bake a plate of cookies with your child or create a plate of cookies out of construction paper or clay. Next, set your dining room table for two guests by putting out two plates. How many cookies will each guest have if they split the plate evenly? Now set the table for three, four, five, six...you get the point! How many cookies will each guest hav if the plate is shared evenly among the guests each time?
This activity will give you the opportunity to introduce division to your child. What does dividing and equal sharing mean? The operation of subtraction can be discussed by thinking about the correlation between more guests arriving and each guest getting less cookies.
This activity will give you the opportunity to introduce division to your child. What does dividing and equal sharing mean? The operation of subtraction can be discussed by thinking about the correlation between more guests arriving and each guest getting less cookies.