Book+Club

**Name:** Jessica Torok **Title:** //Math Curse// Au**thor:** Jon Scieszka


 * Publisher:** Penguin Books **Year of Publication:** 1995


 * Topic/Theme/Genre:** Problem Solving: Real World Applications

**Summary of the Text (to include author’s POV/thesis and arguments):** On Monday, Mrs. Fibonacci casted a spell on a little girl, simply by stating, “You know, you can think of almost everything as a math problem.” Suddenly, anything and everything became a math problem. Her daily routine of math problems haunted the innocent girl from the second she woke up until she fell asleep. The little girl realized that she just had to work each math problem out and arrive at a solution, in order for Mrs. Fibonacci’s curse to be broken. Math Curse explores math from a unique point of view. Scieszka encourages his readers to view life as a math problem and aware of the day to day applications of math. **Unique Aspects of this Text:** This book is about daily situations that are perceived as math problems. Readers can relate to her daily routines and he her frustrations towards the math curse. The math curse becomes a mystery, because readers predict how to break the Mrs. Fibonacci’s math curse. The picture book also integrates secondary level mathematics. Fiction: Mystery **Suitable for Grade Levels:** 4-12 I enjoyed reading this book, because as a secondary math teacher, I found this book very interesting. The book provided several illustrations and mind boggling real life situations, such as interesting facts about Babe Ruth, pizza fractions and the Mississippi River trivia.
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**Name:** Jessica Torok


 * Title:** //Math for Smarty Pants// Au**thor:** Marilyn Burns


 * Publisher:** Little, Brown and Company **Year of Publication:** 1981


 * Topic/Theme/Genre:** Various Strands of Mathematics: logic, algebra, statistics, and geometry

** Summary of the Text (to include author’s POV/thesis and arguments): ** This book is a collection of puzzles, games, jokes, and word problems that are children and adult-friendly. The book allows students of different performance levels and skill abilities in mathematics succeed and retain a positive attitude about math. Marilyn Burns geared this text to help inspire children and young adults to think outside of the box and help her audience feel smart in mathematics, because she believes that learning only occurs when he or she wants to learn.

The unique aspect of this text is that it provides a wide range of skill based activities for grades 3-12. These activities all help increase one’s understanding and make connections with mathematical content. Readers will not only increase their skills, but also have fun along the way. Recreational Math: word problems, puzzles, and jokes
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I enjoyed most of the activities provided in the book; however I would have suggested having colorful illustrations, rather than black and white to spark the reader’s interest. I found these math recreational activities very engaging, which provide helpful tricks and hints about numbers. **Name:** Jessica Torok
 * Suitable for Grade Levels: ** 3-12
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 * Title:** //The Fly on the Ceiling// **Author:** Julie Glass


 * Publisher:** Random House **Year of Publication:** 1998


 * Topic/Theme/Genre:** Geometry: Cartesian Plane

** Summary of the Text (to include author’s POV/thesis and arguments): ** This book is about Rene Descartes, who was a French mathematician and philosopher. Descartes discovered analytic geometry and the book teaches the reader the fundamentals of the coordinate plane. The author instructs the reader how move along the coordinate plane by creating a coordinate plane of Descartes’ messy bedroom. This math myth entertains its’ audience by keeping track of his possessions in his messy bedroom. The unique aspect of this math myth is that it combines history and math with several laughs. This short paragraph text introduces the concept of analytic geometry and allows advanced students to expand their knowledge of the Cartesian plane.
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Fiction: Myth ** Suitable for Grade Levels: ** 5-12
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I found this book very funny and I strongly believe that this story is a great way to introduce or review the Cartesian plane. The book entertains the reader by making connections with geometry concepts and literacy.
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Jessica Torok
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