Math Curse

Synopsis: In this book a young child is told by their teacher that everything in life could be seen as a math problem. From that moment on, the child is plagued by a curse, a Math curse, which makes them think of each of their daily activities in terms of mathematics. The curse continues until the child has a dream in which they successfully solve a fraction problem, breaking the curse and freeing them. Ages 7 and up.

Response: This frenetic, anxiety-inducing book speaks to the fears that many children (and adults) have about conquering math. It is funny and relentless as it drives its protagonist mad with math. The artistic style of the illustrations is slightly dark and eerie but still whimsical, (think Neil Gaiman, Tim Burton), and it show more would appeal to a certain type of child. The sort of prematurely sarcastic and rye jokester who gets on well with adults would adore this book. After taking a step back from the initial experience with this book, the reader will see the myriad of math concepts it ties to real life applications, which can help the reader see math as a realistically usable tool, rather than just an overwhelming boogeyman waiting to devour them. Or maybe not... show less

I love books by Jon Scieszka. He is so clever, and manages to turn topics like science and math into pure laugh-out-loud fun, all the while surreptitiously teaching something to his readers.

In this book, the young boy who narrates says he was “cursed” by his math teacher, “Mrs. Fibonacci.”

[The Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers in which you get to the next number by adding up the two numbers before it. For example, starting with 1 and adding it to get the next number, and then continuing in this way, you get: 1+1=2, 1+2=3, 2+3=5, 3+5=8, and so on. It’s a “thing” because, amazingly enough, you can see the Fibonacci pattern everywhere in nature, such as in more than 90 percent of plants in which multiple parts are show more arranged around a single stem.]

As the story opens, Mrs. Fibonacci tells her students, “You know, you can think of almost everything as a math problem.”

And that is exactly what the boy begins to do, in a way that always ends humorously. For example:

“I take the milk out for my cereal and wonder:

How many quarts in a gallon?
How many pints in a quart?
How many inches in a foot?
How many feet in a yard?
How many yards in a neighborhood? Haw many inches in a pint? How many feet in my shoes?”

Or this:

"1. Estimate how many M&Ms it would take to measure the length of the Mississippi River.
2. Estimate how many M&Ms you would eat if you had to measure the Mississippi River with M&Ms.
3. Bonus: Can you spell Mississippi without any M&Ms?"

In the end, he finally gets free of the curse, only because math is suddenly no longer a “problem” for him.

He announces:

“‘I’ve broken the math curse.
I can solve any problem.
And life is just great until science class, when
Mr. Newton says,
‘You know, you can think of almost everything as a science experiment….’”

Whimsical, cartoon-like illustrations by Lane Smith complement each page.

To quote the author, this book is “for ages > 6 and < 99.”

Evaluation: Like other books by this team, this one is both adorable and informative. show less

Sciezka has created a zany picture book that encourages readers to see the entertainment and everyday application of math. In the story, the young protagonist hears his math teacher (Mrs. Fibonacci) say that you can think of almost everything as a math problem. The next day the boy starts having a problem. Everything he does becomes framed as math. Eating pizza involves fractions, getting to the bus on time relates to times and rates, and passing out cupcakes to the class uses addition, subtraction, division, and fractions! He realizes that he has a math curse! Every subject and every activity becomes an equation or a word problem. Finally, the boy is driven nearly to distraction with his math obsession for an entire day, and he dreams show more he is trapped in a room covered in equations. He solves a problem, puts two halves together to make a whole, puts the hole on a wall, and jumps to freedom. His math anxiety is over. Too bad the next day he hears his science teacher say you can think of almost everything as a science experiment.

What a wonderful way to demonstrate how math is ingrained in our world. So many children see math as a boring skill with no relevance, because they just know the formulas and drills, and don't understand the underlying concepts. This book visually illuminates what math means, with an abundance of fun. On each page, the reader gets the story, and often an assortment of math questions that range from simple to quite complex and are related to the activities the boy is engaged in. It's not necessary to answer the questions to appreciate and enjoy the story. However, a great afternoon activity could be reading the story with your children, and then working out some of those problems together. Also, most of the math questions have silly elements to break up any idea of drill-and-kill school work. For instance, one box asks three questions: If my bus leaves at 8:00, will I make it on time? How many minutes in 1 hour? How many teeth in 1 mouth? The whole book lovingly pokes fun at math, while celebrating how important math is in the world around us.

The illustrations are an inseparable component of the book. They are part collage, part drawings, and incorporate math everywhere. Numbers are part of almost every page. Circles are broken into pie pieces, and information is shared in bar graphs. Formulas and math facts float around. The collage placement adds to a surreal atmosphere, and reinforces the feeling of a curse. Also, the expressions on the bewildered boy's face are hilarious, and adorable when he wakes up feeling confident in his math prowess. Every aspect of the book is aligned with the theme. Even the book flaps have math problems and hidden jokes. The author and illustrator are represented in a Venn diagram at the back of the book. Numbers in the copyright information are given in roman numerals and the prices is given as a math equation. This is a fabulous book, with attention to every detail, and an excellent use of the picture book format. Parents and teachers need this book in their library. show less

The character is suffering from the "math curse" his teacher put on him because now everything he thinks about turns into a math problem. The character is definitely relatable to most kids, who think they want nothing to do with math.I really like the idea behind this book: everything can be thought of as a math problem. This is a great concept to expose our students to because it helps them see the importance of math in the real-world, which is vital for their engagement. It also helps math problems seem not as scary because we are solving them all day, every day without even realizing it. However, the writing and the illustrations weren't my favorite. While I love the concept, students may not think it's as fun or engaging of a text show more as another option of a math-centered picture book because it is very heavy on the math content. show less

I really did enjoy reading this book, and I am not a math person. I loved the illustration and how math was all over. There were math problems made from buildings and were everywhere she went. The character in the book, who does not have a name, was cursed by her math teacher when her teacher told her that you can think of almost everything as a math problem. That’s when the problems began. She thought of EVERYTHING as a math problem. From the time she woke up and throughout the day everything is turned into a math problem. Although this is a funny book, it really does show how important math is and how we do use it in our everyday life, multiple times a day just like the character in the book did. This would be a great book to show more incorporate into a math lesson to show students that math really is all around us and how important it is in our everyday lives. show less

Growing up as the daughter of a math teacher, I felt a lot like the protagonist of Math Curse! My mom turned everything into a math problem and, as someone who has always been more interested in words than numbers, it drove me crazy! This is a very funny book. After her teacher says that everything can be a math problem, the protagonist is put under a math curse and her world is turned upside down. Math problems are everywhere: in the cafeteria, in social studies, even in art and P.E. Her anxiety worsens as the day progresses until she eventually becomes a "math zombie." The curse is finally broken when she draws a circle on a blackboard covered with equations and jumps through the hole. I think students will like the humor and show more creepiness of this book. It would also be fun to go through the book from start to finish and solve each of the math problems as they appear. My only hesitation is that the story presents math in a negative light, as if it's something that needs to be escaped, which is not the way I want my students to feel about a subject I'm teaching. show less

I really loved this book. I like that it shows how math problems can be applied to real life situations such as if I wake up now, when will I be ready? The problems will make children understand math is an important part of life. I have to admit, the book was stressful at times, but you can show this to any struggling math student or a excelling math student and they would enjoy it. You can solve the problems, or just listen to the story and relate to the main character.