Math Curse

Customer Reviews

• To Be Read Again and Again  May 27, 2000 (54 of 55 found this helpful)

  I bought this book for my daugther when she was in kindergarten. "Again Mommy." she demanded after I had read it to her. And so, I read it again. "Again Mommy." And so, I read it to her again. "Again Mommy." and so... I have long since lost track of how many times we read the book.

  It starts with Mrs. Fibonnaci telling her class that "YOU KNOW,you can think of almost everything as a math problem." And we're off on adventure of doing just that.

  The illustrations are wonderful, and match the text perfectly. The book is silly for young children and funny for older children. It is obvious and subtle at the same time. I think this is why some reviewers think that it miscategorized as being for ages 4 to 8. There is so much in the book that kids see it differently at different ages. My daugther is now in 4th grade and she still takes this book off the shelf to read... just for fun. Recently she had a math assignment to show a series of numbers. She chose a Fibonnaci series. This book stays with you.

  The book ends with Mr. Newton telling his class "YOU KNOW, you can think of almost everything as a science experiment." Note to the author: I'm waiting for you to write the "Science Curse."

• A fun view of math anxiety and math ideas in everyday life.  May 1, 1998 (28 of 28 found this helpful)

  I teach math to adults, and I use this book in my classes when I discuss math anxiety. I also use it to illustrate some major math ideas, such as base numbers (important in computers and video games), the Fibonacci series (important in natural science and a good illustration of how math developed in the abstract can often later be found to have practical application), logic, and combinations. The book is chock full of math concepts, all presented in the context of everyday circumstances, which makes it a very valuable tool in making the argument to my students for their need to study math. It is also a very, very entertaining book, and all of my students can relate to the girl's frustration and anxiety. My 9 year old son reads this book at least once a week (for the last year, now!), and still laughs when he reads it. It is wonderfully illustrated and well written, a true gem. I recommend it for children and adults alike, and especially for math teachers of all ages.

• I love this book  Aug 27, 1998 (14 of 14 found this helpful)

  I'm a math major and during my classroom observations, I read this book to 4th graders and they loved it. The teacher ask me to stay and read it to the 5th and 6th graders. The book is illustrated beautifully and it really makes students and adults understand that math is a part of our every day life. I love the way the authors relate every aspect of the book to math: the price of the book is an addition problem, the price is also in available in binary, it's for ages >6 and <99!!! The fact that Mrs. Fibonacci is her teach is just too cool! I've become a math lunatic myself. Thanks to the authors for such grand creativity!

• math? funny???...  Sep 30, 2002 (12 of 12 found this helpful)

  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.

• Train Your Child To Be An Analytical Thinker (and Innoculate Him Against Math Phobia)....  Jul 5, 2006 (11 of 11 found this helpful)

  After her math teacher "Mrs. Fibonacci" says that almost everything could be thought of as a math problem, the narrator enters a bizarre realm where "everything seems to be a problem," and it gets increasingly worse, as she becomes a "math zombie" before the brilliant (and for older folks, profound) conclusion. The math problems start out simple ("It takes me 10 minutes to get dressed...If my bus leaves at 8:00, will I make it on time?"), even English is a math problem ("If mail+box=mailbox... Does lipstick-stick=lip?)" Money, time, measurement, fractions, sequences, estimation, sets, logic and more are covered--there's even a quadratic formula and mention of Zeno! The brilliance of this book is that it anticipates and removes the obstacle of math phobia, specifically fear of word problems, that I saw more often than not back when I was a math teacher. Although the bookcover says "For ages > 6 and < 99," and that is true because of the layers of relevance, I'd especially recommend it for early third grade, that way by the time the onslaught of word problems begins, word problems will seem more like word "puzzles" and fun. Great critical thinking tool, fun both in its story and visuals.