Math Curse

Rating:
Summary: A cute book. This book's cute. Cute is this book.
Review: My title should state that this children's story is very repetitive and gets unbelievably tedious. It had a cute basis for a story, but my gosh, does it ever stop? Eventually, yes, it does. Only to begin with the same problem with a new spin. This book was a classic example of beating a good idea to death. So, I leave you with one question: True or False? What's the most annoying children's book about math?

Rating:
Summary: Very appealing to school-age kids and many adults
Review: Short summary: This is a fun, oversized-square of a book that applies different math principles to every day issues, like telling time, dividing food into equal portions, counting objects, and so on. It is best for kids who have some idea how fractions work. Some math problems are easy, and some are not so easy, so everyone can be successful at least part of the time.


How it has (or hasn't) worked in my own house: I found Math Curse at the used bookstore and dropped it on the kids' bookshelf. It stayed there for a long while until the four-year-old neighbor girl discovered it.

She LOVES it -- vivid pictures, odd shapes, silly problems, offbeat style -- and I'm getting a little tired of it, perhaps because it's pretty challenging to read it in a way that makes sense to a four year old.

Part of the challenge is that there is more on the page than the story; it's a stop-and-look-and-discuss-and-OH MY! LOOK WHAT HAPPENED! book, and most of the math is beyond a four year old's immediate grasp, so after a while I find myself thinking with every page, "Do I read (and explain and explain and explain) this side bit, or do I give up on the Educational Value today and stick to the bare plot so that we can reach the end of the book before dinner time?"

It's an increasingly difficult decision, which I think reflects the fact that I'm getting bored with it after several dozen readings. (On the other hand, reading this book isn't supposed to be "all about me," so I've chosen to grin and bear it.)


This is a GOOD math book for kids aged 8 to 10 or so. It will also read a LOT faster with anyone who knows anything about arithmetic and fractions.

However, as this book turns up very frequently in middle-elementary grade classrooms, I recommend that you think twice about buying it for home -- and teachers, if possible, I suggest you ask your students' prior teacher(s) if they read the book last year.

Rating:
Summary: math? funny???...
Review: There are few author-illustrator teams that I like as much as John Scieszka and Lane Smith. They have teamed up time and again to create books that both children and adults find humorous and wonder-filled. I have become an admirer of their books. Still--I had serious doubts that anyone could make math fun. Math Curse proved me wrong.

One could scourer the earth and not find a bigger hater and despiser of math than me. It has been a thorn in my side and the bane of my existence.

Yet, surprisingly, Math Curse is just as engaging and funny as any other book by Scieszka/Smith. Smith in particular, does an exceptional job in this book. Some of his best illustrations can be found in these pages. The pages ringed by text are classic.

The message of math curse is a simple one--math is all around us. The main character's teacher makes this point one day in class. The main character spends the rest of this book finding out just how true her teacher's statement was.

The humor of Math Curse comes mainly from nonsensical (yet often true) problems that the main character works out in her head while seeking to cure her "math curse."

Math Curse is a funny, educational book. It is representative of all that is great about the work of this author-illustrator team.

I give it my full recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: Math Curse or Math Fun for All
Review: This book is entertaining for all ages. It combines charts, riddles, terms, and more in an amusing tale of mathematical chaos that helps children to realize even math can be fun. Although the book looks skinny, it is actually filled with little lesson plans that are great for elementary classrooms. Not only is the story cleverly written, but the illustrations are fantastic as well. I assure you that whether you are young or just young at heart, you'll enjoy falling under this math curse.

Rating:
Summary: Math Curse or Math Fun for All
Review: This book is entertaining for all ages. It combines charts, riddles, terms, and more in an amusing tale of mathematical chaos that helps children to realize even math can be fun. Although the book looks skinny, it is actually filled with little lesson plans that are great for elementary classrooms. Not only is the story cleverly written, but the illustrations are fantastic as well. I assure you that whether you are young or just young at heart, you'll enjoy falling under this math curse.

Rating:
Summary: The greatest book ever!
Review: This book is great and can be enjoyed by people who like math and those who don't. I read it to my fifth grade class and we laughed so hard that we had to read other books by Scieszka and Smith. We are true fans and look forward to new releases by the two. P.S. If you liked this book, check out the Time Warp Trio series. You'll love them too!

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious...
Review: This book is sooo funny! It was first read to me when I was in the third grade, and I've loved it ever since. I'm currently a tenth-grader, but Math Curse reminds me of how life used to seem confusing in different ways than now. I think it's a great book to read aloud, along with showing all the cute pictures. The story and the questions asked are so absurd that they will keep you laughing out loud.

Rating:
Summary: What a great way to make math exciting again!!!!
Review: This book is wonderful. Each day I tell my students that everything in life is really a math problem and now I can prove it. I can't wait to share this with my 7-9th grade math classes monday morning. They will think I have gone nuts, but I know it will get them thinking of math in a new and exciting way. Give it a try and I know you too will laugh and learn like I did.

Rating:
Summary: There is humour in numbers.
Review: This book presents arithmetic in a humours and off-beat way. When our children are bored with the dull and dreary school way of presenting homework, we pull out this one.

This book helps illustrate that arithemtic is not just about 1+1=2 and Jon gave Mary some apples how many does he hav...<*SNAP!*> It will keep them awake.

You should also check out "The Sticky Cheese Man."

Rating:
Summary: Math Curse
Review: This book was entertaining. It is excellent for a math teacher who wants to get the students interest. A nice ice breaker for the beginning of the school year.