Math Curse

Scieszka, J. and Smith, L. (1995). Math Curse. New York: Viking.

LS5360: Bluebonnet

 

And yet another favorite pulled from the home shelves. Our kids really liked this one when they were little because it was silly and fun, but at the same time, they remembered the story and tools. It’s sneaky like that, and even though you can easily start reading the book to a four or five-year-old, a twelve-year-old might get a completely different perspective, equally valuable to that of the young ones.  I love math and have always preached that math is everywhere, so it’s nice to have a believable resource, as we all know kids rarely believe their parents.  The illustrations go hand-in-hand with the storyline, and they are fun and funky in the use of graphic media and some of the collage-like illustrations.  The illustrations give a sense of bombardment with images, numbers and data strewn across the pages. And just as the story starts to resolve itself, so come the illustrations, less chaotic and more orderly. Until the teacher throws out her final line about science!