Numbed!

School Skills

by David Lubar

When Logan’s class takes a trip to a math museum, his mischievous friend Benedict is sure it will be a boring day—until he discovers a robot and its creator in an off-limits area. The robot proves feisty, and soon both boys get zapped. They realize only later that they’d left the museum without their math skills. To get back the knowledge they need for school—not to mention buying food at the mall, divvying up dinner at home, and much more—they’ll have to get back to the museum and pass a series of math challenges. Being “numbed” will teach Logan and Benedict just how useful, and even fun, math can be.

Genres: Mathematics, Humor, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Chapter Books, Childrens, Fiction

148 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

David Lubar created a sensation with his debut novel, Hidden Talents, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Thousands of kids and educators across the country have voted Hidden Talents onto over twenty state lists. David is also the author of True Talents, the sequel to Hidden Talents; Flip, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a VOYA Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror selection; several short story collections: In the Land of the Lawn Weenies, Invasion of the Road Weenies, The Curse of the Campfire Weenies, The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies, and Attack of the Vampire Weenies; and the Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie series. Lubar grew up in Morristown, New Jersey, and he has also lived in New Brunswick, Edison and Piscataway, NJ, and Sacramento, CA. Besides writing, he has also worked as a video game programmer and designer. He now lives in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidl...

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot is thin, but the humor is engaging, and the math very clever. I *love* that Lubar points out that math is so much more than just arithmetic. Not to mention that multiplication and division are just faster ways of doing addition and subtraction.

I particularly appreciate the 'brain teasers' on the math test, and the fact that the answers are *not* given in the book. And I love the observation that "money is easier to think about than numbers" and therefore the boys figured out something that I don't know if I ever have used. That is to say, multiplying by 25 is really dividing by 4 and adding two zeroes....

I did not appreciate the foreshadowing at the end of the chapters, but it's common in MG fiction, esp. that aimed at reluctant readers, so I guess kids are ok with it. For example, at the end of Chapter 4x25 [divided by] (2x5), "At that moment, I didn't see any way he could possibly be wrong."

I don't know if I like the bits of writing that are actually meant to be a story. But again, they're funny in a juvenile sort of way, so ok. "The orange-banana Slush Monster with extra honey is a about as perfect a drink as you can get. It has enough fruit to make Mom happy and enough sugar to keep me hoppy."

Quick read, recommended to kids who love math as well as those who dislike it.

[Caryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Punished!" plays with words, and "Numbed!" plays with numbers. My ten-year-old enjoyed both books, and we had some good talks about math while we read this one together.

[Pop Bop · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Has Great Potential

David Lubar has created an interesting body of work. He is the talent behind the Weenies books, which are collections of creepy, scary campfire tales, some of which have a bit of an edge to them. He has an accidental zombie series and a series for brand new independent readers, Looniverse, that features fantasy and humor. There's also a very interesting and multiple award winning series for middle graders, the Talents series, which features kids who are written off as delinquents, but who in fact have hidden supernatural talents that they just can't control.

I mention this for a couple of reasons. First, while all of these books are to some degree funny, zany, antic, silly or humorous, none of them are stupid and none of them follow the easy route of potty/fart humor. Second, all of these books display deep respect for kid readers. They are never condescending and they always invite readers to step-up their skills and abilities. Finally, they almost always seem to be in tune with kid reader sensitivities and experiences, so they strike a strong responsive chord in most kids.

This is important because "Numbed" is a tricky book. It is a goofy book - two kids have every bit of their math ability wiped out by a malfunctioning robot and have to complete math tasks to recover their abilities. But, it is still a math book, and it has to grab and hold the kid reader's interest using math facts, math jokes, and math skills. The book works, but Lubar has to draw on all of the skills I noted above to pull it off.

Wisely, the book is not set up as an "argument" making the case for math's utility. What kid wants to read a position paper? At the outset Lubar just plops the kids into a food court and lets them fumble around trying to tell time, ("Be back in two hours"), and trying to buy food, ("Do I have enough money for two donuts?). This gets the reader invested in the heroes' dilemma and everything flows from there.

So, this is a deeply cool, imaginative and novel early reader with an ambitious twist. I guess a really confident, motivated kid, (or an older kid), could read it on her own, but it's probably best as a read together. And if approached with the right attitude it could be a lot of fun.

Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.

[Marian Velivis · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun book! There's not much to the story, which is fine, however, the math tricks you will learn are amazing. Whether you like math or not, it was a neat quick read. Thanks Kathryn!

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sequel to Punished!, though this chapter book can be read as a stand-alone and easily understood. Logan tries to keep his friend Benedict out of trouble during a school trip to a math museum. But shortly after their arrival, Benedict wanders into a restricted area and insults a touchy robot. The robot zaps away their math skills, which the two boys discover in a food court when they can no longer tell time or count money. They head back to the museum for help and must solve a series of math problems to regain their mathematical knowledge. This book does a good job of demonstrating the importance of math in everyday life, and also teaches some interesting math concepts.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Benedict and Logan are back. This time, they are on a field trip in the Mobius Mathematics Museum. Benedict can't resist the sign: Restricted experimental area closed to the public. Absolutely no visitors allowed. Soon, the two are face to face with Dr. Thagoras and his robots. Robots that love numbers. Benedict basically picks a fight with a robot, who zaps both him and Logan. "That thing numbed us."

At first everything seems fine, but after a case of brain freeze, Benedict and Logan suddenly can't do math ... at all. They don't even know how to tell time. When they realized they've been numbed, they go back to the museum to get help from Dr. Thagoras. And that's when the fun really begins.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as much as I loved "Punished". Both books are fun reads with some clever learning added that readers may not notice because they are enjoying the book so much. A must-have for every library.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very amusing tale of two boys who get zapped by a robot at a Math Museum and end up unable to do ANY math! Not only is the story fun, there are great tidbits about doing math scattered through the story. Great fun!

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Math, plot driven, math puzzles, school story

Two boys go into a restricted area at a Math museum and end up losing their ability to do even basic mathematics. They have to return to the museum and complete a series of math puzzles to get their skills back. Not amazing, not terrible.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute book, great to use with students

[Galion Public Library Teens · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read by M.H.

[Patrick Dunphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It taught me about numbers

I liked this book because it taught me about numbers - and I love math! I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed “Punished!”

[Kristi Giordano · Rating 2 out of 5]

My students did not really enjoy reading this book. I did say we could have an ice cream party once we finished so I guess I better get ice cream.

[Sharon Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Numbed! by David Lubar is a follow up book to Punished, but you do not have to have read the first book to thoroughly enjoy this one. Logan and Benedict are good friends, but Benedict has a habit of getting them into trouble. When their class takes a trip to a math museum Benedict is sure it will be boring, while Logan is just hoping to keep them both out of trouble. When a trip past the allowed boundaries led the pair to a robot and its creator an unfortunate incident leaves them reeling before the beat a hasty retreat. They quickly discover that they have been 'Numbed' and cannot do even basic math. The pair discover just how important math is in day to day life and set off on a mission to regain their math skills, preferably before the next math test.

I am not, nor have I ever been, a math girl. I can handle the basics and rock a tough word problem, but I rarely seek out extra math work. Numbed does a good job of proving how important the basics are, and how hard it is to buy anything, divvy things up evenly, or do much of anything with out an understanding of mathematics. I found the message of math's import to be a little heavy handed at times, but that might have been me. I really go into some of the math challenges and puzzles that Logan and Benedict had to solve in order to regain their skills in math, and the fact that some of the math was broken up so that it took the boys more than one simple test to solve the larger problem. I liked the boys, and felt like there are two quite like them in most schools. I also felt that most of the adults were well described and realistic- aside from the robot's creator that did not seem concerned by the boys wondering into a restricted area or leaving them alone with his invention.

I would recommend Numbed to readers that love math, are indifferent, or have a decided dislike of the discipline. Numbed is a book that just might have your young readers playing math games when they finish reading. The characters are relatable and the math approached in a way that makes it fun and understandable. This might be just the book for a reluctant math homework doer in your house.

[MartyAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

TITLE: NUMBED!
SERIES: [Book PUNISHED! featured same characters, Logan and Benedict]

AUTHOR: David Lubar

REVIEW: Logan and Benedict (previously featured in PUNISHED!) are headed on a school trip to the Mobius Mathematics Museum. Benedict is sure this will suck, and Logan just hopes he can keep Benedict from getting them BOTH in trouble!

Benedict is the first to see the sign:

RESTRICTED EXPERIMENTAL AREA

CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC

ABSOLUTELY NO VISITORS ALLOWED

Oh, no. Getting Benedict to ignore that sign is impossible, so off they go to the experimental area. They meet a mathematician, Dr. Thagoras there, and a robot, Cypher the Number Cruncher. The next thing you know, Dr. Thagoras leaves them, telling them not to touch anything. Logan could just howl. There is only one thing Benedict will do now: find all the buttons he can possibly push.

Before you know it, Cypher zaps them, and they are NUMBED. Their skills with numbers are NUMB and not working! They manage to leave with their class and go home. Oh no, they can't figure out what time it will be in two hours, or do simple math, or make change from money. The big math test is coming and they cannot do math! Dr. Thagoras is their only hope!

Will they get through the day without math? Will they find the solution to their problem? Will they regain math skills? What will they have to do to get them all back? Will they be the ones to ruin the average grade on the test -- and cost the whole class an ice cream sundae party?

END: Cute!

PERMALINK: http://martysreads.blogspot.com/2013/...

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author David Lubar has written another adventure for Logan and Benedict, his characters from the book Punished. This time the boys tangle with a robot named Cypher while on a field trip to the Mobius Mathematics Museum. When Benedict makes the robot angry, it zaps the boys and numbs their math skills. Suddenly they can't do even the simplest math problems - and there is a big math test in two days! To regain their math skills they have to return to the museum and get help from Dr. Thagoras (Cypher's inventor). As they struggle through two days of trying to relearn math they find out how often we use those skills in everyday life. Everything from knowing when Logan's mom will meet them at the mall's food court to helping his little sister count out enough change to buy 6 pencils at the school store becomes a real challenge.

If you enjoy playing with numbers, then you will enjoy this story. Even the chapters are labeled with math problems. Chapter 11 is marked "1+2+3+5" and other chapters have subtraction, multiplication, or division as part of their names. This reminds me a lot of the book, Math Curse, which turned everything into a math problem. Even if you are not really into math, the book is still very funny and you will be cheering for the boys as they work their way through un-numbing their math abilities.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful book that reads quickly and easily (except for the parts where you slow down to pay close attention to the math tricks), and is hard to put down (except for the parts where you are torn between continuing to read and wanting to put it down to play math games). Logan and Benedict lose their math skills through an unfortunate coincidence of misadventures at the math museum, and need to try to get them back when the inability to do simple everyday tasks becomes embarrassingly impossible for them. They need to get them back soon, because they have a math test coming up and ice cream is promised for a class average of 85% or better. As with other Lubar books (e.g., Hidden Talents), this one is hard to classify by genre; it's sort of a highly realistic fantasy. For me, however the plot and genre are secondary to the play-by-play math action. This book had a motivational effect on me - a math phobe, and I hope it will similarly motivate the students who read it to enjoy looking for and finding patterns in math. And, as a librarian in a school where more than twice as many students are "highly proficient" in math than in English, I'm also anxious to see if it can have the opposite effect of getting students who love math to enjoy reading.

[M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Benedict and Logan manage to get themselves zapped by a robot at the Mobius Mathematics Museum and find that their math skills--ALL their math skills--have been zapped out of existence. At first they don't think this is a big deal until they can't figure out if they have enough money for doughnuts at the mall. Then they have to sit at their meeting place in the food court for (2 hours) a LONG time before Logan's mom comes to take them home at the appointed time because they can't tell time any more.

To recover their math abilities (preferably before the next math test) Logan and Benedict have to solve puzzles at the museum. Each puzzle restores some of what was lost. Ultimately, through logic and through trial and error, they figure it all out.

Math puzzles, math games, can be fun. Learning short cuts to solve problems seems fun to me. Some younger kids won't have the background yet to enjoy the puzzles, but kids about 5th or 6th grade and up will be able to understand the answers and perhaps to apply them later on to their own puzzles.

[Moon Shine Art Spot ~ Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the cover of this book, but once I began reading it I did not think the story would hold a young reader's attention with the "math" if they had preconceived issues with not being good at math. I understand that the intent was to show math's importance in every day life, and hopefully make math more interesting, which in itself is a huge job. Adding fun and adventure to the math was a definite step in the right direction.

I have read a few of David Lubar's books and found them funny and entertaining. This story of a huge math emergency was also entertaining, but still may not make every reader a math fan. Perhaps the absolute importance of knowing math may be made evident via the story mishaps and "problems solved".

As entertaining and fun as math can be. Awesome effort. Likely a better read for children who are already pretty good at math, but still packed with fun and action.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun look at why math is important in every day life. The protagonists, Logan and Benedict (previously seen in "Punished") get "numbed" after entering a restricted area of the Mobias Math Museum by a robot who takes offense when Benedict tells it that numbers are boring. The boys can no longer do any kind of math, which means they don't know how long 2 minutes is or if they have enough money to buy something at the food court. Basic, every day things. They have to go back to the museum and go through a series of tests to become "unnumbed." It's fun and would be a great read aloud for a teacher, perhaps in the mid-semester slump or when kids complain and ask, "what do I need to know this for?" As a read aloud, it would be fun to stop when they encounter their problems and work it out together as a class or in small groups.

[Gina Hott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hott Synopsis:
Horror of horrors! Logan can’t believe he let Benedict get him into another predicament!!
Who would have thought that a brief visit to the restricted area of a mathematics museum would cause them to loose all hope of recognizing numbers. Or that a second visit would only partially restore their abilities.
It was that robot! Something must be done before someone else is ‘Numbed’!

Hott Review:
This was a great book! I think I enjoyed it as much as the kids. I think that this book was able to show it’s readers so much about how math really applies to life in a fun and imaginative way.

More…
Author: David Lubar
Source: Millbrook Press via Netgalley
Grade: A+
Ages: 8+

[The Styling Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Numbed! By David Lubar, humor/science fiction/math, 4th grade and up- this book is the perfect combination of humor and math. Terrific introduction to why math is important and integrated into our everyday lives in vital ways. I enjoyed reading how two stubborn boys learned how to embrace and solve math problems within a short period of time after being numbed (losing all functioning math skills) by a little robot who loved math and knew they needed to be taught a lesson. Interesting resolution and fun story. I think this book would be a good read aloud for teachers who want that combination of literacy and math in a natural humorous way. Recommended. Affirmative.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Logan tries to keep his friend Benedict out of trouble while they are visiting a math museum, Benedict can't resist taunting the experimental robot. Once they leave, they realize that they no longer possess even the most rudimentary of math skills. Not only do they not understand time but they can't make change or figure out how to split food evenly. Back to the museum they must go in order to get their math skills back. I enjoyed the math problems in the book as well as the story and Logan's solution for his teacher's lock combination. This is a funny but informative book. All hail David Lubar!

[Jessica is now on storygraph jessicaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

After they taunt a robot at the Mobius Mathematics Museum, Logan and Benedict find themselves “numbed” - completely unable to do any kind of math – they can't figure out how to pay for things, or what time two hours from now is, and forget about figuring out the problems on their upcoming math test! The boys find themselves in a race against time as they have to complete a series of math challenges in order to get their skills back. This is a fun and accessible look at math, as well as a cautionary tale for all the kids like Logan and Benedict who are not math's biggest fans.

[Kate Hastings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grades 3-4. Logan is back in trouble again. Last time he was "Punished" to speak in puns. This time he and his friend Benedict are zapped by a math-loving robot who cannot compute their contempt for numbers while touring a math museum on a field trip. The zap "numbs" the boys brains and they cannot even add 1+1, tell time or use money. They are forced to return to the museum and complete math challenges to reboot their brains before the damage becomes permanent.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the humor of David Lubar and he didn't disappoint with this story. Many minilessons on language can be pulled out of this story. This is a enjoyable story about two boys who lose their ability to compute math. They slowly regain their ability by completing different tasks and learn the importance of math in everyday life along the way.

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Logan and Benedict are back and wordster Lubar proves he's equally adept at playing with numbers as he is playing with words. As a math-phobe, I think this one's more painful. At least I could groan in appreciation in Punished. It's a quick, fun read. I'm suggesting it as a read aloud to the fifth grade math teachers. Why should LA teachers have all the fun of reading aloud?

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Lubar is known for his humorous books. Numbed will not disappoint his fans. This math adventure contains some puzzles, LOTS of humor, and "can they beat the clock" tension! The main characters are 6th grade boys- I bet they will seem familiar even if you haven't met them before.

Fun, fast read!

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very short story, a good rad-a-loud. I finished in two evenings. It would be a fun one to read out loud to a class. I think kids would like it, it is funny and has a morale.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to read to grade school kids to show the importance of numbers and math. Quick, fun read!