182. Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace by Eric Wight

Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace by Eric Wight (Canada) - (US)
Frankie Pickle, #3

Pages: 90
Ages: 7+
Finished: Aug. 15, 2011
First Published: July 26, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Canada
Genre: children, adventure, humour, text/graphic hybrid
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

Frankie stared at the first question on his math quiz, and wrote down the number 23.

Acquired: Received a review copy from Simon & Schuster Canada.

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.