SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

September 7, 2011 by Snow Wildsmith

Review: Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace

September 7, 2011 by Snow Wildsmith   Leave a Comment

Frankie is in big trouble — he failed his math quiz! But his teacher gives him the whole weekend to study and then he can take a make-up quiz. The only problem is that his family — who promised to help him study — keep interrupting him to ask him to help them cook or buy groceries or play a game. None of these things will help him study for his quiz…will they?

Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace
Written and Illustrated by Eric Wight
Ages 7-10; Grades 2-4
Simon & Schuster, July 2011, ISBN 978-1-4169-8972-1
90 pages, $9.99

Wight’s Frankie Pickle series is probably the best example of a graphic novel hybrid. Wight seamlessly shifts between text chapters and chapters told in comic art, generally using the comic pages to illustrate Frankie’s vivid imagination. In his third book in the series, Wight takes a simple idea — that math is important to real life — and helps both Frankie and his readers understand the point without ever making the book seem like an after-school special. The fun of the series lies in Frankie’s imaginative leaps, which carry him to the land of Arithmecca, to a game show, and to a football field for the big game. As Frankie has fun, he learns something, but Wight’s deft and delicate touch keeps the story fun without a hint of preachiness or an educational taint.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Frankie and his friends and family are drawn in a thick-lined, black-and-white style which is cartoonish and kid friendly, but also hip enough to keep from feeling babyish. Readers who love stories featuring imaginative heroes dealing with real-life issues (such as graphic novels Babymouse and Kit Feeny and the graphic novel hybrid Dragonbreath) will definitely enjoy Frankie Pickle’s tales. The series doesn’t have to be read in order, but once a young reader picks one of them up, he or she will soon ask for the others.

This review is based on a complimentary copy supplied by the publisher. All images copyright © Simon & Schuster.

Filed under: All Ages, Graphic Novels, Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Snow Wildsmith

Snow Wildsmith is a writer and former teen librarian. She has served on several committees for the American Library Association/Young Adult Library Services Association, including the 2010 Michael L. Printz Award Committee. She reviews graphic novels for Booklist, ICv2's Guide, No Flying No Tights, and Good Comics for Kids and also writes booktalks and creates recommended reading lists for Ebsco's NoveList database. Currently she is working on her first books, a nonfiction series for teens.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

June 2022

Review | Mickey Mouse: Zombie Coffee

by Snow Wildsmith

March 2022

DC Super Hero Girls: At Metropolis High | Review

by Snow Wildsmith

March 2022

DC Super Hero Girls: Spaced Out | Review

by Snow Wildsmith

March 2022

Unicorn Playlist | Review

by Snow Wildsmith

February 2022

Mickey All-Stars | Review

by Snow Wildsmith

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

The Yarn LIVE at ALA 2022!

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Shining A Light Cover Reveal: A Talk with Author Veeda Bybee About the Trick With Collected Biographies

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #331 | Preview

by Brigid Alverson

Heavy Medal

Mock Newbery Update – Our List of First Half Suggestions

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Post-It Note Reviews: Graphic novels, picture books, and more!

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Shark Week, Vanilla Ice Cream, and the Honda CRV: Bob Shea and Brian Won Team Up for ADURABLE

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Saturday Morning Comics | Stellar Panels

A Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Book Challenge | Most Popular Posts on SLJ

First Second Launches History Comics | Stellar Panels

Six Manga About People with Disabilities

10 Sports Manga for Hardcore Fans and Newcomers Alike | Mondo Manga

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2022


COPYRIGHT © 2022