The Monster Who Did My Math

The Monster Who Did My Math written by Danny Schnitzlein,  illustrated by Bill Mayer

Picture book for children ages 7-11

5 out of 5 stars

When a little boy is scared of math, a monster comes and does his homework for him, which the little boy finds to be great at first, until he discovers that he does not learn anything this way.

The Monster Who Did My Math is a picture book written in poem form. The literary elements of rhyme and figurative language color the pages of this book. Due to this fact, the text has good musical flow, making it easy to read and fun to listen to. The figurative language enriches the text by drawing connections between words in the book and concepts out in the real world. This helps readers gain a deeper understanding of the text and exactly what it is that the author wants to convey. Lastly, the wonderful illustrations in this story mirror the emotions described within the text of the book. For example, the text on pages three and four describe how the little boy procrastinated doing his homework until late Sunday night and how the anxiety set in when he realized that he had no other choice but do his dreaded math homework. The anxiety and fear of math homework were clearly shown in the illustration of the boy’s face while he was looking at his math book. From the illustrations to the correct use of literary elements, The Monster Who Did My Math definitely falls under the category of a well-written book.

The Monster Who Did My Math would be a great addition to any curriculum because it teaches valuable life lessons on more than just math. The Monster in the story comes to the boy who is having troubles doing his math homework and offers to do his homework for him. The boy quickly agrees to pay for the Monster’s services later and becomes overwhelmed with joy when he receives an A+ on the homework assignment. The teacher must eventually catch on to the situation as she calls the boy to the board to demonstrate his knowledge. This is where the boy begins to learn his lesson, that he did not learn anything by having the Monster do his homework for him. Even though he did not learn anything about math from the Monster, he still had to pay the Monster his charge of sixty four dollars. In the end, the boy comes to the realization that shortcuts do not exist in life because you will always have it to “pay it later.” And he did eventually come to understand and even enjoy math too. I would read this book as a cross-curricular connection in a language arts class during a poetry unit, since this whole book could be considered a poem. Or I would use it to teach a lesson on cheating and how the students will not gain anything by cheating and that in the end they will always have to “pay it later”. Lastly, I could use it in my math classroom during a time that students are struggling to learn a new concept, and I could act as the Math Monster who doesn't do their homework for them, but as the Math Monster who helps them tackle their homework problems and understand them.