Math Attack!

by Joan Horton, Kyrsten Brooker (Illustrator)

Each time her teacher asks, "What's seven times ten?" a young girl experiences a severe case of arithmetic strain. "Numbers flew out of my head by the score. They stuck to the ceiling; they bounced off the floor!" Soon, exploding numbers are taking over her classroom, her school – then the entire town! Ebullient verse and ingenious collage illustrations full of hilarious escalating antics make this kid-centric romp through the dreaded times tables a read-aloud gem. Clever endpapers feature a multiplication table.

Genres: Picture Books, Mathematics, Childrens, Poetry, Fantasy, School, Humor

40 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 2009

Reviews

[10kbenhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a Monday in arithmetic class when Miss Glass ask a question. When called upon, the young girl’s brain explodes causing numbers to go flying everywhere. She has scrambled her brain with arithmetic strain! When asked how and when this craziness happened, she replies “it happened on seven times ten”. But every time she says this, it starts again! Numbers are everywhere, causing chaos in the town, until… she thinks even harder and remembers the answer to seven times ten. The whole school cheers in relief.

The illustrations in this book are detailed and fun. A student would easily be able to make up a story close to the actual text just by looking at the pictures.

I really enjoyed this book. If a student is struggling with math, this would be a great book to read to them. It put a fun twist on a sometimes-frustrating topic, arithmetic. I plan on buying this book for my future classroom!

[Jessica Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book written in a poetic tone about a girl who is struggling with arithmetic, yet the teacher calls on her in class. She is so stressed that numbers fly out of her head and chaos ensues through the school and out the doors into the public, even the news media get involved. Suddenly, the child remembers the answer, and everyone celebrates. Until the next day…

Curricular Connections:
I would read this to a third-grade class at the beginning of the year when introduction multiplication to lighten the mood and show children that even though numbers can be intimidating, they can also be fun.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun picture book about math anxiety. This rhyming story works well as a read-aloud and is geared toward students learning their times tables. The story really doesn't contain any math (except 7x10) but it is relatable for kids who stress about arithmetic. My fifth grader thought the story and pictures were funny.

[Mary T · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book looked intriguing from the cover, but I didn't care for the storyline. Plus, whose brain would explode on 7x10? That's one of the easiest multiplication facts!

Curriculum Tie-Ins -math, multiplication, times tables, school

[Makayla Gourley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little girl gets anxiety when asked the answer to a math problem and numbers start to fill the space around her. She then realizes the answer to the problem, but then the next day she has another math attack.

[Sarah Reiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

explore, anxiety, perseverance, mathematics

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rollicking, rhyming read aloud about numbers.

[Seb · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I wish there was another Math Attack book!”
S, age 6

[Stacey Mulholland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book. It has a similar story line to The Math Curse.

[Y.Poston]

fun exploration of learning times tables

[Danielle Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anxiety, Focus, Problem Solving.

[Sirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A certain girl cannot remember her nine times table, so numbers go flying out of her head. This soon turns into a city-wide catastrophe.

I can relate.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this to my child. It felt like I was reading a Dr. Seuss story about math.

[Vicki Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is really fun. The narrator is trying to remember the answer to 7*10, but when she thinks about the problem, numbers fly out of her head and cause a lot of tsuris. The story is told in really good rhymes.

[Tiffany Beedle]

This book is about a girl who is faced with finding numbers wherever she goes. The numbers happen to be attacking her and the people around her. The numbers attacked her because she felt that she had to think very hard to figure out math, but she then discovers that it is not as hard as she thinks.

The audience for this book would be a 4th grade math class. I feel that this story would best suit students who are hesitant about math or even afraid of it.

This book would be used to show math students how math is everywhere. I think this is a great connection for students to make so that they are not so afraid of math. In the book it shows everywhere she goes, there are numbers. Math is numbers, and numbers are everywhere.

The appeal of this book are the pictures and the great wording. The idea of the story is that math is a whirlwind and how the words flow, gives a feeling of whirlwind or even mind boggling. I think that not only the pace of the book, but also the slight humor that is found. I also think that the relation between math and real life will help with teaching math.

Horton, Joan, and Kyrsten Brooker. Math attack!. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009. Print.

[Rachel Boatright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Math Attack is a story in first person about a girl in math class. Her teacher announces that it is time to do arithmetic and asked the girl what 7 times 10 is. The girl thought and thought and soon enough numbers came spilling out of her head driving the class and teacher nuts. Then she was sent to the nurse and thought about seven times 10 again with the same thing happening. As the story progressed the girl went outside and a news reporter asked what happened. This again made her think of seven times ten as the numbers spilled all over town into the streets and markets. Finally, she remember that seven times ten is 70! After that everything was well until the next day when her teacher asked what elven times nine is. I like in this book how the pictures on each page show how chaotic the environment is from the main character having numbers go everywhere. A great exercise for students is to ask them what multiplication problems they do not know the answer to. Then have them get in groups and have them work together to solve the multiplication problems.

[Jennifer Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a funny and imaginative story about a young girl and her anxieties about math. Her brain goes into overload with its circuits breaking that her brain ends up exploding. The young girl's brain starts to spout numbers all over the place. Teachers and students are running for cover, police are stung by numbers, dogs are barking, and worst of all the main character can't seem to make it all stop. However, at one point, the her brain seems to start working again and she figures out the answer to the math question that started all this mayhem. Unfortunately, the moment that the problem seemed to have been resolved,the teacher asks another math question. This story seems to be a funny way of depicting how young children might feel learning the multiplication tables for the first time. It is a comedic way to show the journey that everyone faces when given a math problem that just seems too hard.

[Andrea Ference · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about a hopelessly perplexed student sends her school and community into chaos when she's stumped by a simple multiplication question. The girl is faced with finding numbers wherever she goes. The numbers happen to be attacking her and the people around her. The numbers attacked her because she felt that she had to think very hard to figure out math, but she then discovers that it is not as hard as she thinks.
The audience for this book would be a 4th grade math class. I feel that this story would best suit students who are hesitant about math or even afraid of it. This book would be used to show math students how math is everywhere. I think this is a great connection for students to make so that they are not so afraid of math. In the book it shows everywhere she goes, there are numbers. Math is numbers, and numbers are everywhere.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best for kids ages 5 and up.
Early Literacy Skills: Print Motivation, Letter Knowledge, Phonological Awareness, Narrative Skills

From cover:
"Can somebody tell me what's seven times ten?"
This girl is trying so hard to remember her times tables that her circuits overload and her brain just EXPLODES! Numbers fly out of her head by the score. They stick to the ceiling. They bounce off the floor! Things are wild - and getting wilder - in Miss Glass's arithmetic class. Could this be another case of arithmetic strain? LOOK OUT! Math has never been so much fun!

Playing story about learning times table with equally playful illustrations.

[Gail Barge]

I loved this book! This book explains exactly how I feel when I get stuck on tricky math problems. My mind explodes with numbers and information and it can be rather frustrating (and even a bit scary when it is time for a test!). This book would be a great way to incorporate a math lesson using children's literature. The rhyme in the book flows perfectly from the mouth and challenging vocabulary is included as well. This book can teach that although it may be hard to figure out those tricky problems, solving them can be quite a celebration!

[Inna Nako · Rating 3 out of 5]

-funny story about a girl who gets sick with a math strain as soon as the teacher ask a multiplication fact
-numbers fly everywhere and the town is attacked
-fun read aloud to put some humor in math
-a great activity that would follow this book would be a game where partners try to guess the product of two numbers first (using cards on their heads)
-this would also be perfect for teaching the strategies, such as the tens table- put a zero at the end- have students practice on white boards to see who can get the ten tables fastest to see if they understand the strategy

[Connie Eberhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this book 6 stars if I could! Any time you can combine Math and reading you have a winner! This child's struggles with multiplication are very relatable for so many students! It's rhyming words make it fun and yet relatable to the trials of learning a new topic. This book is great for working on self esteem with Math, it could be used as a writing prompt for students who love math and struggle with reading and writing, or it could it could just be a fun good book to read aloud or keep in the library of your classroom.

[Dest · Rating 2 out of 5]

This rhyming tale takes a girl's fear of times tables and turns it into a national emergency. Numbers start flying out of her head and attacking the school. Not much substance here, just a lot of running around.

My biggest problem with it is that the problem that sets the panic in motion is seven times ten, which any kid will tell you is one of the easier multiplication problems. Now, eight times eight or six times seven, I'd understand. But ten times tables are the easiest.

[Chelsea Ulrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could be good to use to ease the strain that some students associate with learning their times tables. In the book a young girl is experiencing distress about knowing her facts and they seem to be running her life. I think it would be a fun book to read when introducing or while teaching multiplication. While there are no math facts in this book, it could be a fun way to ease the pressure of learning math and I could see where students would enjoy this.

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story about what happens to a girl when she experiences a math overload! It is something that most kids can relate to, which I think would make it a good read-aloud for a classroom. Aside from being relatable, the book also exemplifies where/how we use or see numbers in everyday life (at the grocery store, on clocks, etc). It could also be a lead-in to a multiplication lesson, used to relieve stress on students.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Math Attack" is a great story about a girl that has math anxiety every time she comes across one particular multiplication problem, seven times ten. The whole town is in danger after her anxiety causes numbers to attack. This book is very fun to read and captivates students' attention with all the silly rhymes and pictures. I think this would be a great book to have to help students overcome their fear of math and numbers.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a funny, but odd story about a math (panic) attack. We talked about numbers and how they can be fun and how you can find patterns in them. The illustrations were creative, with lots of collage cut-outs and interesting touches like the Massachusetts license plate on the police car. I hope our girls grow up to love math as much as I do.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This rhyming, rollicking story about a girl who over-exerts her brain, causing all the numbers in there to run amok, makes a fun read-aloud, and was perfect for end of year with my third graders. Especially suitable for kids just learning the multiplication tables, since that's what initially causes the brain explosion and the ensuing chaos.

[Sade]

This book is a great reference for teachers to have a starting to point to teach math. There were several ideas presented that I would love to try in my classroom. I would use this book to address the different learning styles. With books like this, students will look at math with delight instead of dread

[Brittany Balunas · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I like most about this book is that children can really relate to the main character. It brings some humor to learning multiplication facts. I could see reading this book aloud to the class shortly after beginning to teach multiplication so that students could relate. I may use this at the beginning of the second day of multiplication centers as the mini lesson.