MONEY DOESN'T GROW ON MARS
Author: Lori Haskins Houran
Illustrator: Jessica Warrick
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Number of pages: 56
Publisher: Kane Press (USA) First published in: 2017 Format: Chapter book Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? No Is this story part of a mathematics story series? No, but it is part of a non-mathematical series, called 'How to be an Earthling' Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, CAN Synopsis by the author/publisher
Making money is easy! Jack gets two dollars to sweep the sidewalk, a dollar to take out recycling, five dollars to dust. Soon he’ll have enough to buy a special issue of his favorite comic book! Jack has it all under control, unlike Spork, who’s crazy for video games. But Jack forgot one thing. Making money may be easy. Keeping it is hard! |
“Jack couldn't believe. Five dollars at Colossal, two dollars at Betsy's, and now a dollar at the market. Eight dollars a week! At that rate, he could buy the Talons and Fire in three weeks, not four - with money to spare!”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Once we put our mathematical lens on, Lori Haskins Houran’s ‘Money Doesn’t Grow on Mars’ (2017) – a story primarily about self-control – suddenly becomes a great mathematical story! The title is part of Kane Press’s ‘How to be an Earthling’ series, which focuses on a positive character trait in each series title. The story follows a young boy, Jack, who tries to work three jobs to save enough money to buy his favourite and rare comic book. With a narrative like: “Jack couldn't believe. Five dollars at Colossal, two dollars at Betsy's, and now a dollar at the market. Eight dollars a week! At that rate, he could buy the Talons and Fire in three weeks, not four - with money to spare!", teachers and parents will find this useful as a context to teach 7+ years old children about addition, as well as algebra and equations with children, aged 8+ years old (e.g. through mathematical investigations, such as ‘What if Colossal paid Jack just one dollar a week, how many more weeks would Jack now have to wait to save up to buy his comic book?’). If you want to use this title specifically for mathematics teaching, Chapter 2 in its entirety can be skipped. In terms of illustrations: as this title does not present itself as a mathematical story, it would not be fair for us to comment how page illustrations (by Jessica Warrick) could have better represented mathematical situations in the storyline more visually. For what it is (i.e. a story about self-control), the illustration does its job just fine. A splash of colour would not go amiss, though we appreciate that black and white is a common characteristics of chapter books. While the leading character of this title is white and male, we appreciate that the overall cast of the whole series is relatively more diverse. All in all, give it a whirl! [Disclaimer: We received a complimentary inspection copy of the title from Kane Press]
Recommended age range:
7+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Addition & Subtraction; Equations; Money
Possible teaching activities:
At MathsThroughStories.org, we believe that stories can be meaningfully incorporated in mathematics teaching in different ways. Thus, we are inviting you to share your experience of how you have used this story in your mathematics lesson with other members of the community. By sharing your experience with us, you will be added to our team of On-line Contributors here, where you can also find our submission guideline.
Once we put our mathematical lens on, Lori Haskins Houran’s ‘Money Doesn’t Grow on Mars’ (2017) – a story primarily about self-control – suddenly becomes a great mathematical story! The title is part of Kane Press’s ‘How to be an Earthling’ series, which focuses on a positive character trait in each series title. The story follows a young boy, Jack, who tries to work three jobs to save enough money to buy his favourite and rare comic book. With a narrative like: “Jack couldn't believe. Five dollars at Colossal, two dollars at Betsy's, and now a dollar at the market. Eight dollars a week! At that rate, he could buy the Talons and Fire in three weeks, not four - with money to spare!", teachers and parents will find this useful as a context to teach 7+ years old children about addition, as well as algebra and equations with children, aged 8+ years old (e.g. through mathematical investigations, such as ‘What if Colossal paid Jack just one dollar a week, how many more weeks would Jack now have to wait to save up to buy his comic book?’). If you want to use this title specifically for mathematics teaching, Chapter 2 in its entirety can be skipped. In terms of illustrations: as this title does not present itself as a mathematical story, it would not be fair for us to comment how page illustrations (by Jessica Warrick) could have better represented mathematical situations in the storyline more visually. For what it is (i.e. a story about self-control), the illustration does its job just fine. A splash of colour would not go amiss, though we appreciate that black and white is a common characteristics of chapter books. While the leading character of this title is white and male, we appreciate that the overall cast of the whole series is relatively more diverse. All in all, give it a whirl! [Disclaimer: We received a complimentary inspection copy of the title from Kane Press]
Recommended age range:
7+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Addition & Subtraction; Equations; Money
Possible teaching activities:
At MathsThroughStories.org, we believe that stories can be meaningfully incorporated in mathematics teaching in different ways. Thus, we are inviting you to share your experience of how you have used this story in your mathematics lesson with other members of the community. By sharing your experience with us, you will be added to our team of On-line Contributors here, where you can also find our submission guideline.
