Frankie Pickle And The Mathematical Menace (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
The story is about Frankie, a student who greatly dislikes math. he has troubles with math, but he also doesn't like to try in math class either. Frankie is given a math quiz during class in which he chooses to draw on instead of actually doing. His teacher decides to give him a second chance to take his quiz, but Frankie is super nervous. Frankie is able to study and pass his quiz, but it was a long process to get there. The audience for this book is third through fifth grade. A student who dislikes math would be great for this book, because they can relate to Frankie. Also, this book would be great for a student who enjoys humor and has a great imagination. I would use this book for personal student use. I would prefer not to use this book as a class book, but rather I would use this book for a student who is struggling with math, or who just does not care for the subject. My hope would be that they will open up their mind to the subject of math more than what they are, with the help of Frankie's humor and he ability to pass his math quiz. The appeal of this book is the great humor in it as well as the imagination that Frankie allows readers to follow. He leads readers into a great world where you meet the math menace in Arithmecca, a world of horrible number monsters. This is a great way to get students to read about math, in a way that they would never believe that math can be this cool. Wight, Eric. Frankie Pickle and the mathematical menace. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2011. Print. Reason for Reading: next in the series.I'll be frank. I'm usually not fond of stories about math. They start out with some kid either hating or having a hard time with math and then they are shown how math is used in the real world and just how relevant it is in everyday life. Usually something especially fun the kid enjoys is used to entice him/her and in the end the kid either likes math, is good at math or thinks it *is* fun. Well, Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace is no exception when it comes to plot, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story this time.First of all, Frankie is already our friend from the previous two books and I was excited to read his latest adventure. Frankie's imagination takes over and the graphic sequences are hilarious as he turns everyday events into grand excitement. I must admit Frankie's friend, sister and parents were all very creative in the way they applied math to Frankie's life and they all turned into humorous scenarios which made for a very funny story. There is no getting past the teaching aspect of the story but it is all done with brilliant humour and a witty attitude. I loved the illustration of Frankie imagining being stuck in the same grade forever and his baby sister catching up with him. She's turned into a hip little girl "Thanks for driving me to school today, bro." and Frankie is a goatee-ed teenager squished into the elementary desk with a look of desperation on his face. A fun book. Looking forward to the next installment due out in Mar. 2012.
What do You think about Frankie Pickle And The Mathematical Menace (2010)?
at. the. end. I. notiecd. he. learnd. all. his. math. after. all.
—marsha
great book for a younger age around 7-8 years
—shopaholic
