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Math Curse | ||
| Author: | Jon Scieszka | ||
| ISBN: | 0670861944 | ||
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| Book Review | |||
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Did you ever wake up to one of those days where everything is a problem? You have 10 things to do, but only 30 minutes till the bus leaves. Is there enough time? You have 3 shirts and 2 pairs of pants -- can you make 1 good outfit? Don't worry -- it's just the Math Curse striking! An amusing book about dealing with numbers in everyday life. Math Curse FROM OUR EDITORS Arrgh! Does tunafish plus tunafish equal fourfish? A girl finds herself trapped in a math curse when her teacher tells the class they can think of almost anything as a math problem. Soon she sees math everywhere. Scieszka and Smith join forces again to create another lunatic masterpiece, and adults will writhe in sympathy as they remember their own math curses. ANNOTATION When the teacher tells her class that they can think of almost everything as a math problem, one student acquires a math anxiety which becomes a real curse. FROM THE PUBLISHER "As close to genius as one gets in a picture book."--USA Today * An ABBY Honor Book FROM THE CRITICS Publishers Weekly Whew! This latest whimsical work from Scieszka and Smith (The True Story of the Three Little Pigs; The Stinky Cheese Man) is bound to stretch out the old thinking cap. The day after her teacher announces, "You know, you can think of almost everything as a math problem," the narrator is afflicted with a ``math curse'' that affects how she views every facet of her day (``Everything seems to be a problem''). A minimum of the questions she asks herself are entirely logical ("How many quarts are in a gallon?''); some are far-fetched extrapolations (if an M&M is about one centimeter long and the Mississippi River is about 4000 kilometers long, how many M&Ms would it take to measure the length of this river?); and a happily hefty number are sheer nonsense: "I undo 8 buttons plus 2 shoelaces. I subtract 2 shoes. I multiply times 2 socks and divide by 3 pillows to get 5 sheep, remainder 1, which is all I need to count before I fall asleep." Like the text, Smith's wonderfully wacky collage-like art will give readers ample food for thought-even if it's part junk food. Here's a morsel: "Does tunafish + tunafish = fournafish?" Kids will want seconds-count on it. Ages 7-up. (Oct.) Children's Literature - Susie Wilde The duo who dare to be different take us into the world of numbers in this book. They combine math and literature and get the story of a young heroine whose questions multiply when her teacher, Mrs. Fibonacci, tells the math class, "You know, you can think of almost everything as a math problem." The young girl is spun into the world of mathematics. Problems she encounters include simple arithmetic processes, mathematical systems, money, measuring, and geometry. The mathematical facet of the book is equaled by playful references and humor, which gains the book exponential power. One could read Math Curse with a child as young as second grade and that child would enjoy the story at face value, but upper elementary and middle school mathematicians will better appreciate the humor and references. Children's Literature - Judy Katsh The two bad boys of "kiddie lit" have done it again! Their irreverent look at math and the way we teach it in school will delight anyone who has ever sat through a meaningless explanation of what happens when the two infamous story-problem trains speed away from their respective stations. Readers who appreciate a first class marriage of text, illustration, sense, and nonsense will love this book. Children's Literature - Jan Lieberman Sorry, Mrs. Fibonacci, but when you labeled everything a math problem, my mind couldn't cope. I loved arithmetic but word problems drove me crazy. If I wanted to know how long it takes a train to go from one place to another, I'd get a train schedule. Scieszka, a former math teacher, takes numerical enigmas and rejiggers them in this mind-boggling, hysterically funny book. The combination of art and text is a hoot. There is some legitimate math within the nonsense, but most of it is just plain fun. Read it aloud at your next faculty meeting in a deadpan, serious style. If no one laughs, fire them! Assignment: What is the significance of Mrs. Fibonacci's name? School Library Journal Gr 3-5-From the inventive minds of Scieszka and Smith comes an unusual take on the subject of mathematics. More for the ``Time Warp Trio'' audience than for Stinky Cheese Man (1992, both Viking) devotees, Math Curse opens with the ominously simple statement, ``You know, you can think of almost everything as a math problem.'' From that point on, the young narrator is overwhelmed with daily math. Getting dressed, eating breakfast, getting to school-everything involves addition, subtraction, measurement, probability, etc. Questions are boxed and numbered within the narrative, just as they might appear in a textbook. The questions, however, are not always typical workbook queries. For example, ``I take the milk out for my cereal and wonder: 1.How many quarts in a gallon? 2.How many pints in a quart? 3.How many inches in a foot? 4.How many feet in a yard? 5.How many yards in a neighborhood? How many inches in a pint? How many feet in my shoes?'' Some of the humor may have to be explained to readers. Kids will be able to figure out most of the problems on their own, depending on their grasp of fractions. Smith's illustrations are wild and rollicking. Combining drawings with collage, he creates a multi-textured school scene that reflects the narrator's confusion. Numbers are everywhere, but so are whimsical touches such as the individual expressions on the 24 cherries that adorn the class's cupcakes. This title can certainly be used as lighthearted relief in math class, but the story will be heartily enjoyed simply for its zany humor and nonstop sense of fun.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
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