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19th out of 37 books
—
30 voters
The Homework Machine (The Homework Machine #1)
by
Dan Gutman
DOING HOMEWORK BECOMES A THING OF THE PAST
The unlikely foursome made up of a geek, a class clown, a teacher's pet, and a slacker -- Brenton, Sam "Snick,", Judy and Kelsey, respectively, -- are bound together by one very big secret: the homework machine. Because the machine, code named Belch, is doing their homework for them, they start spending a lot of time together, at
...moreHardcover, 160 pages
Published
March 1st 2006
by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
(first published 2006)
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Four kids all have a last name that begins with a D so they are called the D Squad. One of the D Squad members, Brenton says he has a homework machine and so all the squad members go over to his house and use the homework machine. Can they keep their secret? Or will someone find out?
This book was a good one that I'd recomend for kids ages 10-12. 'The Homework Machine' by Dan Gutman takes you on a sort of sci-fi adventure, when Sam, Brenton, Judy, and Kelsy find out that Brenton has invented a homework machine they nickname Belch. You see Brenton was different from the day he was born, he never cried as a baby, and wrote his first piece of music when he was six. He also never seemed to have friends. Then Brenton let's his little seceret slip and tells Sam about the homework...more
Mar 08, 2010
Abdullah Suliman
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
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A group of 4 kids somehow got a homework machine that does their homework in no time! but something really bad happened because of this machine. That's why we hear the whole story from each of them in the police station. what happened? and why were they in the police station? you will have to find out yourself!
This is really one of the best books I have read and It's certainly one of my favorites. It's very well written and entertaining. I loved the way the writer introduces the characters and t...more
This is really one of the best books I have read and It's certainly one of my favorites. It's very well written and entertaining. I loved the way the writer introduces the characters and t...more
1 like · like · see review
The Homework Machine
By: Dan Gutman
The Homework Machine case all started with 4 5th graders, Judy Douglas, Kelsey Donnelly, Brenton Damagatchi, and Sam Dawkins, who formed the “D” Squad at the Grand Canyon School in Arizona. These 5th graders were all very different people: Judy was an African-American girl who was very smart, she was in the gifted and talented program, and was the “Goody Two-Shoes” of the group, Kelsey was a girl who didn’t really like school, and didn’t mind about doing anythi...more
By: Dan Gutman
The Homework Machine case all started with 4 5th graders, Judy Douglas, Kelsey Donnelly, Brenton Damagatchi, and Sam Dawkins, who formed the “D” Squad at the Grand Canyon School in Arizona. These 5th graders were all very different people: Judy was an African-American girl who was very smart, she was in the gifted and talented program, and was the “Goody Two-Shoes” of the group, Kelsey was a girl who didn’t really like school, and didn’t mind about doing anythi...more
(*Three and a half stars, actually*)
What if you never had to spend time on homework ever again? A homework machine could free up your time to do other fun things---would you use it and keep the secret? What could possibly go wrong?
Attracted to the plot summary and diversity in this cast of characters, I selected "The Homework Machine", by the prolific Mr. Dan Gutman, as the next book for the Kids' (Library) Book Club members to read. The albeit interesting story of "Belch" (an alias for the Hom...more
What if you never had to spend time on homework ever again? A homework machine could free up your time to do other fun things---would you use it and keep the secret? What could possibly go wrong?
Attracted to the plot summary and diversity in this cast of characters, I selected "The Homework Machine", by the prolific Mr. Dan Gutman, as the next book for the Kids' (Library) Book Club members to read. The albeit interesting story of "Belch" (an alias for the Hom...more
I chose this book, because a good friend of mine recommended it to me, I gave it a go, and it's now one of my favorite books. In 'The Homework Machine," there is a group of 4 kids who hang out, because all of their last name's end with a D. One of them is incredibly intelligent, so he builds a homework machine, and they all use it, until it starts to cause trouble. My favorite quote from the book was, "What should I do? I gave them both an A." I liked this quote,because it exhibited the helpless...more
What would life be like if you had a computer to do your homework? Well for some fifth graders they are about to find out. They are members of the 'D' Squad sitting in groups of four, their last names all ended in D. They are Brenton Damagathi, the geek and maybe super genius, Sam Dawkins aka Snikwad the class clown, Kelsey Donnelly is a slacker doing just enough to get by and Judy Douglas is the teacher's pet and almost straight 'A' student. Their teacher in the fifth grade was Miss Rasmussen,...more
Jul 03, 2011
Jackie Pino
added it
Four students from very different social groups end up sitting together in a group assigned by their fifth grade teacher. When nerdy Brenton reveals he has created a machine that does homework for him, the others become interested. Eventually, the foursome is spending every afternoon at Brenton’s having their homework completed by the homework machine they name Belch. Eventually, others are onto them and so the four try to eliminate the problem--but Belch takes on a life of its own.
This is a uni...more
This is a uni...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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(Genre:Children's Fiction) This was another one that we listened to on CD as a family. After starting the story, I almost didn't continue because of the messages that these kids were sending during their narratives (and because my children we listening, too). But my kids encouraged us to go on and so we did. This story is told from the different viewpoints of each of the 4 children involved and a few of the adults. Four 5th graders who have nothing in common, end up sitting together in a group a...more
This book was very unique and enjoyable to read. I think how the author put the book in a interview style was very creative. It worked out because they were getting interviewed while telling the whole story at the same time. I liked how two of the characters were kind of smarty pants and the others kind of just went with the flow. The story is great and the characters are too. I liked it maybe you will too.
2 likes · like · see review
So far it is a good book. It is about 4 kids who talk about a homework machine that this kid named Brenton invented.The teacher Miss R. put Brenton, Sam, Judy, and Kelsey in a group and they all had a D in their last name so the class started to call them the D Squad. Later in the book the D Squad became friends and they would always go over to Brenton's house and do their homework on the homework machine. Then this kid named the D Squad got split up into different groups and Brenton got put tog...more
The Homework Machine is a great book for fifth graders, particularly those that aren't quite reading on grade level. Four students, randomly assigned to the same group in their class, form an unlikely friendship after Brenton Damagatchi creates a homework machine. Judy, Sam, Kelsey, and Brenton all benefit from the machine but each of them learns that homework and doing your own work are important.
I especially liked that each of the kids had a unique personality and voice. Most readers will fin...more
I especially liked that each of the kids had a unique personality and voice. Most readers will fin...more
I have enjoyed several of Dan Gutman's books, and the premise of "The Homework Machine" appealed to me as a writer for children. I found the book had several flaws:
The multiple Points of View quickly became tiresome, especially near the end when the POVs changes come fast and furious.
Character motivations were inadequate.
The Milner subplot was poorly conceived and totally unbelievable.
The ending was unrealistic and unsatisfying.
The book was overly moralistic -- Brenton actually comes u...more
What would life be like if you had a computer to do your homework? Well for some fifth graders they are about to find out. They are members of the 'D' Squad sitting in groups of four, their last names all ended in D. They are Brenton Damagathi, the geek and maybe super genius, Sam Dawkins aka Snikwad the class clown, Kelsey Donnelly is a slacker doing just enough to get by and Judy Douglas is the teacher's pet and almost straight 'A' student. Their teacher in the fifth grade was Miss Rasmussen,...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I read this aloud to my 5th grade class earlier this year. While we enjoyed the characters (everyone could identify with the sort-of stereotypes presented), I found it lacking a measure of imagination. It seemed to be trying to make something that is truly mythical- a machine that does your homework for you- into something that really could happen. It's okay to present a truly fictitious story to children- they love it, and their imaginations can definitely keep up! And they need the realism of...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I couldn't resist picking it up at the book fair - seems like an updated version of some classic that I read as a kid. A bit cliche but suspenseful telling by complex kids and adult. The "do your homework" moralizing is expected, but the best part is how it ties into the meaty subplot about the morality of war. War is contemporary without mentioning specifics, the characters are emotionally invested and have an organic debate without manipulating the reader.
Like a lot of YA authors Gutman is ob...more
Like a lot of YA authors Gutman is ob...more
This book was really short and it reminded me of my childhood. I've always wanted a homework machine. If i had a homework machine, i would like to say that i'd share it with all my friends. That is what i would think now. But back then as a kid, i would make people pay me for them to use my homework machine. Except for really close friends, i would help them do it for free. While reading this story, it made me reminiscence my childhood and i wish i could go back now. This book was also really in...more
I am done with this book so fast because it was interesting and it was kind of easy. It was basically about these four kids named Brenton,Kelsey,Judy,a Sam who usedthe homework machine that Brenton made himself to complete thier homework. Their classmates wondered how students like Sam and Kelsey who didn't really like school and got grades for all the homework assignments. In the end when the situation was getting out of hand, as a group the four of them decided to get rid of the homework machi...more
What kid wouldn't want to skip out on homework to have time to do other things? After they discover that a classmate has a machine that can do your homework for you, four middle-graders form an uneasy alliance that soon blossoms into friendship. They call the machine Belch, and through the wonders of computer processing, it does all of their homework and leaves them with plenty of spare time.
All of the characters start off as stereotypes, but they soon develop nicely. I really liked the structur...more
All of the characters start off as stereotypes, but they soon develop nicely. I really liked the structur...more
This is a cute book about a foursome drawn together in school by the secret they share--that the whiz kid among them has invented a machine to do their homework perfectly. I learned of it when I supported a public school classroom through DonorsChoose.org. I got a sheaf of thank you letters from that 4th grade class that made me want to read the book myself. I don't think it's one for the ages, but it's clever and I like the ways it brings four very different young people together. Could have do...more
That brenton makes the homework machine and they thought it would not work. But brenton says it works, so brenton slipped his homework, inside then started to fiddle with his computer and it came out finshed. The d squad was amazed by it so they tried to name it and snik belched. So the d squad named it belch everyday they'd always go, to brenton's house so belch can do it for them. There's a jelous boy named ronnie teotwaki who is trying to figure out why snikwad is, hanging out with brenton. J...more
Molly had to read this for school, so I did too. It was pretty good. She just thought it was boring, boring, boring. It was very different in its style--you had to work hard to get a feeling for the characters because there is no background narration, just the characters' words.
We have to do a creative report on this book, and nothing seems to interest Molly enough, so I am discouraged about that.
This is a modern day book, maybe a little too grownup (with the computer usage and boyfriend/girlf...more
We have to do a creative report on this book, and nothing seems to interest Molly enough, so I am discouraged about that.
This is a modern day book, maybe a little too grownup (with the computer usage and boyfriend/girlf...more
It took awhile for me to warm up to this book, its characters and the multi-person-perspective interview-style format (which gets repetitive and a bit annoying), but about midway through the book the plot gains momentum and the characters gain complexity. I especially wasn't a big fan of Sam, but after his father is deployed to Iraq, he becomes more sympathetic and likable, and this aspect of the plot adds some depth to an otherwise comical and light-hearted read. There wasn't enough detail behi...more
Four fifth-grade students--a geek, a class clown, a teacher's pet, and a slacker -- is how the annotation for the book starts and it's one of the problems I have with this book. The four kids who are the main characters of this book are all stereotypes and nothing but stereotypes. Add to that loose ends all over the place at the end of the book and a concept that kids might love, but isn't at all realistic. I'm all for fantasy, but this book didn't fit that either. The idea was interesting and I...more
I thought it was a good story- I felt for reluctant readers- it might be hard to follow. Each chapter is written in the voice of a different character, so the plot moves forward then back then to a different point of view.
( I read books with reluctant readers in mind- because my sons don't really enjoy reading.. so I think this would make following the storyline difficult and keeping characters straight a challenge.)
If your child LIKES to read.. they might really enjoy this book. There are good...more
( I read books with reluctant readers in mind- because my sons don't really enjoy reading.. so I think this would make following the storyline difficult and keeping characters straight a challenge.)
If your child LIKES to read.. they might really enjoy this book. There are good...more
My 5th grade teacher read this one to me too. It is about four kids that invent a homework machine that does all the work for them. They had to each write one letter of the alphabet. They would always get a couple wrong on purpose. In the end, people started to find out so they had to get rid of their machine. They decided to launch it into the desert so that the F.B.I. wouldn't know. They eventually found out and they got in trouble. This book has really reminded me to just do my homework even...more
"What would you do if you designed a machine to do all your homework?" I have assigned this age-old writing prompt myself once or twice. Answering that question, I expected this book to have light, fluffy humor. I found surprisingly more depth than that, although I did have to get used to the choppy, interview-style paragraphing. I was pleased to see that the book looked at the homework machine's consequences for parents, teachers, and several different types of students. I could see fascinating...more
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Homework Machine | 1 | 2 | 8 hours, 3 min ago | |
| awesome | 19 | 14 | Apr 11, 2012 12:38pm |
The author of over 80 books in a little over a decade of writing, Dan Gutman has written on topics from computers to baseball. Beginning his freelance career as a nonfiction author dealing mostly with sports for adults and young readers, Gutman has concentrated on juvenile fiction since 1995. His most popular titles include the time-travel sports book Honus and Me and its sequels, and a clutch of...more
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Jul 01, 2009 07:42am