Math Curse by Jon Scieszka Illustrated by Lane smith

Scieszka, Jon, and Lane Smith. Math Curse. New York: Penguin Group, 1995.


In Math Curse, a girl is told by her teacher that everything could be seen as a math problem. The narrator engages the audience in one hilarious story after another of how she encounters math in her everyday life. She introduces many playful problems such as, “Estimate how many M&Ms you would eat if you had to measure the Mississippi River with M&Ms”(np).

The unique style in which the text and illustrations are presented further reinforce the intriguing nature of the book. The collage-like illustrations are big, bold, eye-catching and colorful. The font varies in size, capitalization and even position on the page. For example, on one page, the text acts as a border; the book has to be turned in order to read the words on each side. Variation in text guides the way the book is read and helps to maximize the humor. It emphasizes funny points such as, “I am now a raving math lunatic”(np).

The dedication page, price label, age group, list of other books the author wrote, etc. also incorporate the mathematical playfulness presented throughout the book and reinforce that math is everywhere. For example, a Venn diagram illustrates which books the illustrator and author have done. To top it off, the book presents answers to even the most ridiculous problems on the back cover.

I found many sources online, including these, which incorporate the reading of “Math Curse” into a lesson plan: http://www.theteacherscorner.net/lesson-plans/math/storyproblems/mathcurse.htm and http://www.k-state.edu/smartbooks/Lesson017.html