My Homework Ate My Homework

by Patrick Jennings

Math is not ten-year-old Zaritza's best subject. When her teacher, Mr. Phinney, offers extra credit to whomever takes the class ferret, Bandito, home over the weekend, she jumps at the opportunity. Unfortunately, taking care of this particular animal is as boring as school itself. All it does is eat, sleep, and lick itself. So when Zaritza accidentally leaves Bandito's cage open and the ferret goes missing, she blames everyone else, including her three-year-old sister. And her excuses get bigger and bigger. But when her mom finds out that there is a ferret on the loose, Zaritza better find her class pet fast!

Genres: Middle Grade, Humor, School, Contemporary, Childrens, Fiction

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Adonica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a great book! I think anyone who has children or works with children can find the humor in this read...my students loved it as well...

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this ARC up at ALA on the strength of the adorable cover and the clever title. I knew I was in good hands about 30 or so pages in, when I realized that I wanted to grab Zaritza and give her a good shake. Jennings has created an entirely believable 11-year-old drama queen who just walks right off the page, and one who I really didn't like at all for much of the book. I warmed up to her plenty by the end.

Zaritza has a complicated life- a little baby sister, a cranky mom, an over the top dad and math homework. Lots of math homework. So much math homework that she's in danger of being kept out of the fifth grade play unless she gets it turned in. She's entirely self-centered and scheming, full of herself and full of drama in equal measure. How she learns that other people (and ferrets) might be something other than her supporting cast.

Nicely drawn characterizations, involving plot and lots of laughs. Recommended for your favorite fifth-grader.

[C. L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love this author, but there’s no way around the fact that the protagonist spends 3/4ths of this book as a selfish, racist, habitually-lying user. By the time she learns her lesson (which she doesn’t, actually) we’ve spent entirely too much time in her company. Not recommended.

[MaoMeow1035 · Rating 3 out of 5]

4th to 6th grade level
The book is about a girl who is so passionate about drama, she does not realize that she is not the only one with the talent. She finds it hard to cope with the fact that somebody else gets to act the lead part that she thought she was designed to be. And that lead actress is her math tutor!!! She finds that drama is not everything in her life, friendship is too.

[Marylynn Antoine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked My Homework Ate My Homework because it has a mix of animals, theater and humor. The girl relates to me and her family is crazy. I kept losing the book so it took me about 6 or 7 weeks to read. It's 5.0 points on AR. It's definitely a 4 or 5 star book. Absolutely one of my favorite books I've read.

[Carson hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I really hated the protagonist. She was just so unlikable. I wish this story gave more information about Eden, who I felt was the most likable character in the book.

[Julie Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can I tell you first that the cover annoys me? The girl is far too young looking and the boy??? If it is Wain, he was hardly at the house at all and certainly not when the ferret was stealing the homework. The cover doesn't do the story justice.

Okay...on to the book. This has been nominated for the Cybils and I had already purchased it for my library. It was very cute. Zaritza is a drama queen and fully expects to be cast in the role of Calamity Jane in a school production. Problem is she has gotten behind in math. She promises to watch the class ferret and make up her work over break but then the ferret eats her homework (what little she had done). The first half of the book is all about how she struggles to finally get caught up in math. Thr second half is about how she deals with the disappointment of not getting cast as Calamity Jane,

It was an easy, fun read. Not overly deep or anything. The friendship message was good although maybe rushed a bit...Overall though I liked it.

[Teresa Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of the "Guinea Dog" series introduces another fun animal character, this time a class ferret. Pair the ferret up with a drama-queen 5th grader who spends more time figuring out how to avoid math homework than it would take to do it, and you have an enjoyable combination. Zaritza is not initially enamored with the class ferret. In fact, she hates it, but sees it as a way to gain extra credit for that missing math homework. She even frames the ferret for eating the homework only to discover, too late, that she's expected to redo it. Cheating doesn't work. Her parents are on to her. Tutoring helps, but the tutor is so bland. However, Zaritza knows she won't be able to participate in a school theater opportunity if she doesn't catch up on math. When she doesn't get the role she feels she was born to play, Zaritza is initially angry. However, she uses her natural drama ability to its best effort and ends up learning to love ferrets and gaining a friend. This is another fun book from the author, and would make a terrific read-aloud.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten-year-old Zaritza Dalrymple wants nothing more than to spend her life acting. She's been eagerly awaiting a chance to try out for a part in a traveling acting company's rendition of Calamity Jane. But several mishaps cause bumps in the road and force her to change her focus. Readers may find it hard to like Zaritza at the start of the book since she dislikes the class ferret for whom she is responsible one weekend, she resents the family dog Wormy, and she spends much of her energy concocting plots to get her way and to get out of doing several math assignments she has not completed. Plus, she's always rehearsing whatever she plans to say to others, which makes her quite insincere. Luckily for readers, she starts to change somewhere along the way, and while she is still quite dramatic, she also is able to treat others generously. The book is filled with plenty of humor and good lessons delivered among scenes of a family that while not perfect, clearly cares about its members.

[Michanne Reese · Rating 5 out of 5]

OUTSTANDING!!! Had picked it up to send to my niece; I always at least scan books I give to others to make sure the content is appropriate. I couldn't put it down and actually read most of it out loud to my 23 and 15 yr old kids. There were times I would have to take a break in the reading because we were all giggling so hard. I have since picked up more copies to give away as everyone needs the belly laughs this story ensures!!!

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zaritza is an interesting character. She's difficult to like as she comes up with excuses and manufactures drama when things don't go her way or she has dropped the ball. When she doesn't get the starring role in the school play, she is forced to face her meanness and to put her self-centeredness aside for the show to go on.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

First - the cover drawing of a ferret is HORRIBLE. Not a terrible book, but having had pet ferrets for decades, it reads more like the author read about ferrets rather than owning a ferret. An unneutered males stink. No one should have an unneutered male if you're not breeding. If the cage smells, otherwise, it is the fault of the human responsible for cleaning.

[Campbell Choate · Rating 3 out of 5]

For starters, the main character, Zee, is soooo dramatic. And when I mean dramatic, I mean dramatic. The book has many fun characters, encluding the class pet, Bandito. This book is gender nuetral and is recomended for 1st-5th graders. It is a very short, realistic fiction read. I thought it was a humorous read and deserved 3 stars. Happy reading!

~ Campbell Choate

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a middle grade novel about an over-the-top fifth grader who wants a big part in an upcoming school play. Zaritza is selfish, thoughtless, and self-centered. I was very uncomfortable with her stereotyping of her Asian classmate and was pleased that she was called out by her parents and friends. Overall, a clever story with some amusing situations.

[Akila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny book!!! Found myself feeling soo
angry at one point though (think that is what the author wanted) Just felt like it revolved around the topic (restating it).... The ending was expected and charecters would just seem unimportant and then make a huge impact in the end. Overall OK book.,...

[Debi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story...very fast-paced, and anyone who has had a drama queen tween in their life can relate. The characters are easy to relate to, and it especially enjoyed the father/daughter dynamic in the story.

[Serina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to laugh cuz ferrets do stink lol The girl is a brat but its told in such a light hearted way u don't really hold it against her. Washington.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute and funny, over the top main character, pleasantly predictable plot, well worth the MG reader's time.

[Stephen]

good book