Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication...OH MY!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers…the place that loves a good read any day of the week and feels the need to share those reads with all of you!  Feel special?  You should…because you are.  ^_^  Speaking of special, don’t forget to enter the contest currently running for your chance to win author Derrolyn Anderson’s latest YA release; details are in the right hand sidebar under Current Contests.  Now, back to the post of the day….

Today, we’re heading back to the classroom…more specifically the realm of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division that send chills down many a spine.  Yes…the subject de jour today is MATH.  No whining…or else the math monster might find YOU next and as the young lad in our story discovers, that’s not exactly a reason to celebrate.  Grab your pencils and a fresh sheet of notebook paper, class is in session!  Today’s book of choice is….

The Monster Who DidMy Math

by

Danny Schnitzlein

Illustrated by

Bill Mayer

It comes in the night feeding on the helplessness of many a lost soul as you try to solve one...last....MATH PROBLEM.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

From the author that brought us Trick or Treat on Monster Street (fab book…in fact I reviewed it right here on the site once upon a time) and an illustrator that knows how to bring the fun (and the creepy!) right off the page, we have a tale of what happens when we let math get the better of us.  Okay, so it probably ranks on most peoples "most disliked subjects ever" list somewhere near the top.  That's okay, it happens!  As for me, I didn't mind it so much (though my number one was English Literature…go figure ^_^)...it's when you get to the Trigonometry and Calculus that my teeth start to grind; of course, having a Mom that use to be an accountant, a love of numbers in some fashion was bound to happen.  (Thanks Mom!) 

I still remember when I was younger and she'd pull this old quickie math trick out of her book where to add/subtract numbers quickly you rounded to the nearest ten then added/subtracted the difference...but I could NEVER seem to grasp how she accomplished it faster then putting pen to paper!  It was infuriating because I prided myself on getting top marks and just couldn't comprehend her process.  Guess what?  I kept at it, trying to decipher her magical code and attempting problem after problem on the go with her method until one day...it just clicked.  I was out shopping, ran across a sale, and tried her method without really thinking about it and POOF, it worked.  It wasn't magic after all (though don't tell Mom I said that), it was simply a tried and true short cut found by trial and error that really worked and could help you out when pen and paper (or a calculator) were not in reach.  Go figure.  In the end, I learned as valuable a lesson as when I stubbornly studied by “6” times tables for an entire weekend til I finally had them memorized (and still do to this day!  6 x 7 = 42 … 6 x 9 = 54). 

The work you put in is as important, perhaps more so even, as the results you obtain.  It’s great to get the right answer, marvelous in fact…but if you just have the answer and don’t know how to get there on your own, your achievement is lessened; in short, you’re only cheating yourself.  So, to summarize, this is a hilariously creepy yet adorable story that reminds us that the easy way out isn't always the easiest way out; sometimes (no, most times) the experience, the journey, the things we learn along the way mean so much more than the end result.  It's one of those "winning isn't everything" moments decked out with a ghoulish grin (and I mean really, look at those fabulous graphics!) and an "I told you so" for good measure...with an extra smile for adults that sign contracts everyday as to the importance of actually READING them; after all, if our young friend here had paid a little closer attention to the details he may have avoided his predicament all together.  READING folks....in all its forms...makes the world go round.  Learn it.  Live it.  Share it.  Nuff said.  ^_^

Recommended read for all ages; from the tall to the small, the young to the old, the math lover to the math hater, this ones for you.  Review copy received courtesy of Emily at Peachtree Publishers.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title as well as their ever growing catalog of wonders, be sure to visit them online, check out their blog, like them on Facebook, or follow along on Twitter.  This book celebrated its paperback release not so long ago and should be available now on a bookstore shelf near you.

Until next time…happy reading!