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Nov 20, 2011

Brittany rated it:

I thought the plot for this story was so interesting. Somehow, this book has made math almost fun and interesting. I liked that there are different stages to the plot, first you see the initial spark, “You know, almost everything in life can be considered a math problem.” Then you watch as the narrator becomes a “math zombie”. The story continues like this until the curses is broken, but wait! The science teacher then says, “Almost everything in life can be viewed as a science experiment.” I lik More...

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Dec 15, 2011

Katelynn added it

This is a great book for students learning how to do math. It is about a student whose teacher taught him that anything in everyday life can be turned into a math problem. The next day when the boy wakes up he sees math in everything. It drives him crazy because he is so overwhelmed with all the numbers but he is learning all different sorts of problems and he is able to figure them out on his own. By the end of the story the boy finally is able to do all of the math without it makeing him upset More...

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Nov 23, 2011

Sarah rated it:

This is one of my favorite stories. As a child in elementary school, i always would find myself having trouble understanding math problems and easy ways to look for examples to solve problems. My dad bought this book for me because i love to read and he thought i might understand things better if things were put in perspective. This story really helped me see that i am not the only kid having trouble in math and this boy is having as much of a hard time as what i've been going through. I liked r More...

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Nov 21, 2011

Elizabeth rated it:

Overall I thought that this children's book written by Jon Sciezka was extremely well written and thought out. This is because it is an entertaining children's book with creative pictures and illustrations with still a story behind it which teaches children math in a fun way. I also liked it because it shows children that even though they may not realize it, math is incorporated into their daily lives no matter if they are thinking about it or not.

One thing that I liked the most about More...

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Oct 04, 2011

Luke rated it:

Is it awkward that I was just as excited as the 4th graders were that I read this book to? I didn't realize this at first, but I grew up reading this author during his series of the Stinky Cheese Man. I did a read aloud to my 4th grade students and they giggled and were so responsive about each situation that the student in the book has. It is true, you can make a math problem out of just about anything in every day life. As a response I had my students come up with their own questions and the r More...

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Jan 01, 2011

Lisa rated it:

When I read the author's dedication, "If the sum of my nieces and nephews equals 15, and their product equals 54, and I have more nephews than nieces, how many nephews and how many nieces is this book dedicated to?" I knew I would love this book. This math problem will later appear in Algebra 1 when covering systems of equations and it will be beneficial if your children have had experience using trial and error (along with a little common sense) to figure this type.

I wishe More...

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Jun 23, 2010

Anna rated it:

Math Curse is a very fun story about a student, whose hilariously-named math teacher, Mrs. Fibonacci states that everything can be seen as a math problem, which turns the girl into a “raving math lunatic.” From sun-up to sun-down, the protagonist anxiously ponders the solutions to a myriad of calculations: how much time does it take to get ready and be at the bus stop? (a solvable problem for the reader); estimate how many M&Ms you would eat if you had to measure the Mississippi River with M&Ms; e More...

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Oct 26, 2010

Lisa rated it:

This book is hilarious. It’s clever. It’s fun. It uses play on words as much as it does play with numbers. There’s a real story here and it’s very creatively done. I love it. I think it’s special.

There’s even a very amusing dedication page and a funny author’s bio section in the back of the book, etc. all using math, of course.

I’m embarrassed to say that there was at least one math problem that was over my head, this in a book for elementary school students. Ack!

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Jul 24, 2011

Little Miss and the Legomeister rated it:

I love this book. It's got some brilliant wordplay and uncanny math applications. It's important to read this book as if you've just downed your no-doze with a couple of Rockstars.

A couple of quotes to help you feel the tone of this book...

I don't even bother to take out the cereal. I don't want to know how many flakes in a bowl. Mrs. Fibonacci has obviously put a MATH CURSE on me. Everything I look at or think about has become a math problem.

George Washington More...

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Nov 20, 2011

Anna rated it:

Math Curse, by Jon Scieszka, is an interactive book for students. Not only does it tell the story of a character who seees math in everything and is affected by the "math curse," but it provides examples of math in the story. While reading this book, children can stop and work the math problems. It is a great way to get students interacted and engaged in the reading. I especially like the illustrations in the book. I would love to use this book as an introduction to applying math to re More...

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Jun 29, 2011

Darlene rated it:

What a fun book! I loved the illustrations and the convoluted way of looking at math. It is how I have always viewed the subject. Take for instance word problems. Bane of my existence! Take the story of the trains leaving their stations heading toward each other. The books always tell the speeds of the trains and pretend that nothing else could ever be a variable. Such as: Supposing that one engineer is chewing gum. And the other train has just hit a snowstorm icing the tracks. Then add to that More...

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Nov 28, 2011

Morgan rated it:

I really enjoyed this book! I thought that it was playful, but still really interesting. I would definitely read this to a class that is just about to learn fractions, because it shows the tentativeness about learning new things in math. I think that it would be fun to go through and answer a lot of the questions with students, because it is something that we could figure out together, since the answers aren't explicitly stated in the book. Either that, or read the book at the beginning of the f More...

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Apr 04, 2011

Carrie rated it:

I like how this book addresses the problems math brings up for kids. Yet it points out a very true fact, math is a part of everyday life. I really like the use of the font and page layout in this book. It is extremely creative and different, which I s what I like the most. This book can also be used an interactive book during a math lesson because it sets up word problems for you as the story is being told. It also gives you real life situations, and shows how a math problem can be created from More...

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Sep 23, 2011

Brian rated it:

For ages > 6 and < 99
Have you ever had a math teacher that has said, "you will need to know this one day?" or how about a math teacher tell you that life can be viewed as a math problem? Meet Mrs. Fibonacci! On Monday, Mrs. Fibonacci says, "You can think of almost everything as a math problem." How many Lincolns are in a Washington? How many Washingtons are in a Lincoln? Is there an answer? How might Thomas Jefferson feel about this? Lunch, Social Studies, Englis More...

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Apr 08, 2011

Becca rated it:

Math Curse is great!!! It establishes a mindset in the beginning and follows it throughout the entire story. A little boy is cursed with math problems relating to everything he does in his everyday life. He thinks of every action as a math problems, and challenges himself (and the reader) to figure out an array of crazy questions that relate to his life. There are many questions that would be great to figure out as a class, but probably should be read to third grade and above. Many math concepts More...

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Nov 21, 2011

Nicole rated it:

This is a great book for students that are just learning the first concepts of math. It gives them the idea that we use math all the time in our every day lives, and shows them how useful it can be. I would definitely introduce this book to my students when we are going over some math topics that may be a little more difficult, just to show them how useful what they are learning will be and to give them that little push. The illustrations definitely match the concepts of the book really well. Th More...

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Nov 26, 2011

Ryan rated it:

Coming into this book I was curious to see how Sciezka was going to incorporate math into this book in a fun way for children. After just a few pages in it was clear that he had accomplished this task wonderfully. The “Math Curse” is a story of a girl who begins to see every aspect of life mathematically. In the story this becomes a curse for the girl when she simply cannot get math problems out of her head. She sees mathematical equations for everything. Although this story shows this as a curs More...

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May 04, 2009

Kimberly rated it:

"Math Curse" is a wonderful book that any child can relate too. Mrs. Fibonacci puts a math curse on the boy in the book, and that's when everything in his life becomes a problem--a math problem.

From when the boy wakes up at 7:15, until the end of a dream the following night, the boy sees everything in his world as a math problem. Clothes are a problem, lunch is a problem, even getting ready for bed is a problem. The only way out of this math curse is through a tricky ans More...

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Oct 22, 2010

Kathryn rated it:

What a fun and creative book! It's about a student whose math teacher says that, really, everything can be seen as a math problem--and the next morning, sure enough, the poor kid wakes up and starts to see math problems EVERYWHERE! I don't want to say too much because part of the fun is seeing how and why math problems pop up in the course of a school day--from getting ready for school to history and English classes. The illustrations are quirky and fun and add to the overall enjoyment of the More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Nov 04, 2011

Chrissy rated it:

This book made my head spin! Like this boy, math drives me nutty too, but I feel that many students would find this book hilarious! Especially the ending. The story is very detailed and all about math problems. I feel that this would be a good book to read while either I, or another of their teachers, is beginning to introduce equations or other math conversions or formulas to them (possibly 4-6 grade?). I think that if I was to raed this any sooner than then, they would have no idea what was go More...

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Sep 07, 2009

Ckorbakis rated it:

This book is a great way to start off the school year in math. The little boy is bombarded with math in all aspects of his life. It's extremely silly and moves at a good pace. There are even questions that students can answer along the way to keep them engaged. It is recommended in the Everyday Math series as a literature/math connection. After reading the book aloud, I'm planning on sharing a number that is a "curse" for me. I'm going to show how the number 2 comes up in my life More...

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Nov 13, 2009

Liz rated it:

This truly dizzying book adds up to be a story of mathematical genius! Mrs. Fibonacci's sequence of events leaves her students spinning as they begin to see everything as a math problem!

Math Curse is amazing book that brings math from the sometimes abstract world into everyday real life for students. As the students see everything from breakfast cereal to english class as a mathematical problem they being to think like mathematicians which in the end cures them of their math curse. More...

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Dec 14, 2011

Brian rated it:

I really like how the author somehow made learning math a fun and exciting thing to do. It shows children that even though they may not realize it, math is incorporated into their daily lives no matter what. I also really loved how the pictures were so big and how the text varied from page to page. I will definitely have this story in my classroom library.

In this book, the author showed that learning math is not always boring it can be fun. It shows that whether we know it or not math More...

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Apr 25, 2011

Megan rated it:

Math Curse by Jon Scieszka is a witty, twisted tale of a boy who can't stop thinking about math problems. The entire book is set up with math problem after math problem, and most of them are solvable. This would be a great story to introduce a number of math concepts to students. It is a fun and interesting story, that puts math in the real world. It also has solvable problems that could be solved in class after reading the story. Lane Smith uses fun and abstract illustrations to add humor More...

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Nov 23, 2011

Julie rated it:

I didn't like this book at all. The way it is laid out makes it very choppy and awkward to read plus the illustrations looked really unappealing to me. I could see students having fun with this and trying to solve all the problems in the book. A fun in-class activity would be to solve them or even have students separate into groups and research certain problems, such as the meanings of planet Tetra and Binary and why they only have a certain number of fingers. One part I did think was cute were More...

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Nov 23, 2011

Kate rated it:

I thought this was a very interesting story, but something you can learn a lot from. I liked how this story was relating itself to real life, and everyday struggles people can go through. Time management is a big thing people struggle with daily, and I like how this story made that so meaningful and real. I think kids would enjoy reading this book, and finding it helpful to guide them through all of life's challenges, and to cut down on procrastination. I think a great activity for kids to do in More...

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Nov 17, 2011

Jazmin rated it:

I really enjoyed reading this book because I thought of math problems in my life as well as he was mentioning some. I really liked the ending and I thought it was funny because the boy thought his math curse was over, but then his science teacher said that you can think of almost everything as a science experiment. I would definitely have my students read this book because this book can open up their minds about how you can use math in your everyday life. It will also teach them that math is imp More...

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Nov 23, 2011

Amber rated it:

I really liked the Math Curse. I think this book is so creative and cute. Although at times I did feel the book was a little overwhelming and stressful. This book would be great to read to any math class or any age. I think the children would really enjoy this and they most likely would start thinking of everything as a math problem too!! The book is about a child who sees everything as a math equation after his math teacher told him that there is math found in everything. Throughout the book yo More...

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Nov 26, 2011

Shauna rated it:

i really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed this book because i love math and i tend to look at everything like a math problem too. When i wake up i look at the time and try to time everything out to see if i have enough time to do everything i need to do. When i walk to class i determine how long i have been walking by how many songs i have been listening to if each song is three and a half minutes long. I use to be a math major so numbers are everything to me. Sometimes i felt as if i was going craz More...

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Nov 27, 2011

Karly rated it:

I thought this was such a cute book!!! The student is like hypnotized in a sense and her whole world is revolving around math. It is one of those books that little kids listen to and are constantly wondering what is going to happen next. I also think this is a book that students can relate to life. Math really is a huge part of life and is used every single day. It is important that students understand this. They don't need to let it take over their lives like the student in the book, but math t More...

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