Customer Reviews

The Homework Machine

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I purchased this book for my about-to-be 4th grader. I liked the format of everything written in the first person-i.e. each of the four characters writes a narrative. The plot ended up being a little thin and the ending was a let down.

My biggest objection was the multiple uses of the word "sucks" and at least one "freaking" (as a substitute for the "F" word). Maybe it's acceptable for teens to use these words on a regular basis but I didn't feel it was appropriate for a 9 year old. I discontinued this book with my kids after 2 chapters for this reason. Call me old fashioned but I just thought other parents might like to know the content.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the treatment of the war was a little much for this age as well.

This book is about four kids who create a homework machine to do they're homework for them, but is this a gift or a curse? Their classmates begin to get suspicious and attempt to get them to admit it, but will one of them crack?

I enjoyed how everyone gets to express they're own point of view throughout the book, and how the author introduces different characters throughout the book. It's a shame that it didn't last longer, but then again I didn't stop reading it so that would be why.

The homework machine is one of my favourite books of this genre the layout is fun to read, Dan Gutman has exceeded himself in this book. I like how people that are completely different gradually over time become friends. This was one of the greatest books I've read in a long time. You have to read this book, beacause it is a brilliant read that will interest your kids and most likely yourself.

The title of my favorite book is, The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman. He also wrote Mrs. Patty is Batty, and The Get Rich Quick Club. The lesson of this book is to yell out to the people that cheating never does the work for you so don't cheat on anything. The book is fictional.

I guess the author likes making the books fascinating because he makes it sound like a real life story of a couple of kids. In the story the friends are Breton, Judy, Sam, Kelsey, Cops, and all the moms.

The book is about kids that keep getting in trouble at there foster home and the first day of school comes. If you like fascinating and sneaky books then this is the book for you.

We've got a kid who lives near the Grand Canyon but his father is assigned to Luke Air Force base. If you look at the area around Bright Angel, none of the locations written in the book would realistically happen here but assuming they did, this dad would have a FOUR HOUR DRIVE to work. If you put the location down closer to Flagstaff you couldn't have kids riding their bikes to the Grand Canyon AND you'd still have a 3 hour commute. How hard would it have been to research out a plausible location for the book and it's characters?
Also - in reference to the Air Force family. You have a dad who is an AIRMAN, not a soldier. But in the book he continually is referred to as a soldier. A soldier is in the Army. An airman is in the Air Force. Period. It would also be very unlikely for an airman to have ever been driving patrols or carrying guns in to schools. It's just not plausible at all. Unless it was his personal weapon, the military is very careful about where the issued weapons are brought and I can guarantee you that guy would be breaking about every rule possible to have brought his weapon to a school.
The only reason that family was written about as such is because Mr. Gutman had a political agenda. The unfortunate thing is that he didn't even get it right. It smacks of unintelligent and poorly researched opinion delivered to children as fact. That is irresponsible. Kids will have opinions about important events, like the war and that's fine. But you must give them the correct facts.

The other thing that bothered me to no end was the Milner guy. He is introduced as having tracked these kids down almost magically and knowing everything about the kids. That plot line went nowhere and made no sense at all. The fact that Gutman just passed him off as some marketing dude was a poor payoff with no resolution of the actions previously in the book.

As far as the red button staying on despite the lack of electricity running to the computer? Random inference of artificial intelligence run amok.

This was a totally ill-conceived and poorly researched book with no follow-through on some of the most major issues. I'm very disappointed with the fanfare this book has received.

It's puzzling what Dan Gutman had in mind when he decided to make the characters of this book 5th graders.

The four kid protagonists are (spoiler alert) two boyfriend/girlfriend couples that go out on dates, hold hands and get "lovey dovey" with each other, as Gutman puts it.

One pierces her navel and dyes her hair pink with her mother's consent.

They amble around town on their bikes with no supervision and their parents have no clue where they are. They even sneak out of their houses and take an unattended nighttime bike ride to the rim of the Grand Canyon. That kind of freedom might have been commonplace 20 years ago, but it's just not realistic now.

Really scary: While the four are hanging out at one child's home without any parents around, a man who has been cyber-stalking the children comes to the door. They recognize him, and, even though they are terrified of him, open the door and speak with him. He proceeds to outline a proposed business deal with nary a mention of mom or dad.

The book has plenty of redeeming value - it's fast-paced and funny in places, and deals with serious themes, from war to cheating, but it's hard to get past the dissonance between the kids' age and behavior.

The Homework Machine was written by:Dan Gutman
The book's main subject is: these kids that do their homework by a machine.
The author's main point is that:Always do your homework.
One of the most interesting things in this book is:They throw the machine down the Grand Canyon.
In my opinion,this book is:The best book I ever read.
I say this because:I always do my homework.

Review by Kayla Snedeker

After reading such good reviews about this book I was excited and really hoped to be able to use it in my own 5th grade classroom. However, I was underwhelmed to say the least.

As a teacher of 5th graders, I know what 5th graders talk like. Even if you stretched to 7th or 8th grade, the vocabulary and the sentences structure is beyond their speaking much less reading level. I really struggled to capture the characters in my mind because they seemed so unrealistic.

In addition, the plot was shaky. There are so many unanswered questions or pat answers given to real mysteries. Why were the police involved with a completely school-related issue? Why did the red light on the computer stay on? How does a "marketing agent" track down a 5th grader on a computer without having any previous contact through a chat room or elsewhere? How did this "marketing agent" know who was involved?

I think the final straw for me was the situation with Sam's family (I will not ruin it for those of you who still would like to read it). It was done in very poor taste. The situation with Sam's dad was given high drama and then disappeared within one or two pages. It was a cheap device and gives readers the impression that Sam's father did not mean much at all to him or anyone else for that matter.

I love the idea of seeing the action from different people's perspectives, but if I'm going to do a reader's theatre in my classroom with students, it will be a well done book that has fun, realistic characters, fine writing and a good story.

The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman is a fictional novel about a homework machine that was invented in the Grand Canyon. The owners of the homework machine are called the D squad because their last names all end in D. Brenton, Sam, Judy, and Kelsey are called into the police station when it is reported that someone has a machine, invented to do homework.


There are 4 main characters in this book. First, Sam, a kid who is arrogant, convinces the other kids to use the homework machine even though I don't like him he advances the plot so I guess he is key to the story. Next, Brenton is a nerd, who invents the homework machine I like him because he is kind. Third, Judy, who is a smart girl also kind, reluctantly gets pulled into this plot is kind to people so I like her. Finally, I feel sorry for Kelsey since everyone thinks she is stupid up until a certain point in the story.

I loved the book when I read it in 4th grade. So now I am in 8th grade and decided to read it again for the heck of it. Have parts that are suspenseful and can be scary, not like too scary but just a tad scary. Even though I didn't think I would like the book because I am in 8th grade I think it is still a good book.

It is written for younger kids, I realize now. It can also be for anyone who enjoys a laugh.

This book had an interesting structure -- a series of brief interview transcripts with the characters. There are four kids, a teacher, and some parents. The plot was a little weak with unanswered questions, but a third or fourth grader reading this book probably would be more turned on by the idea of a homework machine.

There is a strong theme through the book about how cheating becomes lying becomes paranoia becomes outright hostility. That's worthwhile, and it was well-developed. I liked that it was set in Arizona, although if you have a parent stationed at Luke AFB, that family is not going to live at the Grand Canyon. The two are four or five hours' drive apart. That's an error, but it's not the end of the world. So far, so good.

I took away one star: The book's adults are clueless, disinterested, or overly-permissive. This goes for parents and the teacher.

A couple of language uses that we don't say, especially "sucks" and "dork" -- not a major deal. Dan Gutman apparently thinks that there was a school in the 1990s whose teachers were permitted to rap knuckles with rulers -- because the teacher in this story went to that school. I defy you to find me one American school that allowed corporal punishment in the 90s. I went to school in the 70s and there was none. That's a ridiculous error. I dropped another star for that.

My big sticking point on this book: it has has a theme of anti-war running through it that takes cheap shots at kids. Here are a few of the many war references we have in this book:

*p 30: A bumper sticker that says "War is not the answer"
*p 31: the best support you can give to the military is to keep them out of wars... these issues tend to make people very emotional and are best avoided.
*p 44: I didn't like the catapult assignment at all. I didn't think war was an appropriate subject for us to study in school. There are more important things for us to learn.
*p 47: Snik's Dad came in with his uniform and a gun and everything? Can you imagine? A gun in school? I thought it was horrible. Why did we have to learn about war and killing?
*p 47-48: the world would be a better place if we just had peace
*p 78: (about a parent who has been deployed overseas) Snik was very gung-ho GI JOE about it... I was against the war... I didn't want him telling me that people who were against the war were traitors and all that.
*p 78: war is not the answer. Chess is the answer.
*p 92: (the child with the deployed dad) I asked my dad in an email if he shot anybody yet.
*p. 116: (after the death of the deployed father) He was a good guy. Now he was dead. And for what? It wasn't like World War II, when America had to, like, save the world from Hitler.... It was a war for nothing. And Snik's dad died for nothing.

After I read through it all the way, it seemed jarring and discordant to have these messages in a book about dishonesty/cheating. So I wanted to give other parents and teachers some examples. Those are what I found just flicking through the book. The book only has 146 pages, and Dan Gutman spent that many on anti-war messages? If you want to write an anti-war book for kids, give it a title like "why war is stupid." Don't try to sneak it into children's reading material. That just cheapens your message.


For a good book on how a lie told at school has growing repercussions, try "Lost and Found" by Andrew Clements.

In April a group of students at a middle school in WA got together to discuss this book. Here are some of their thoughts on the book...

I like the book. I won't tell you why, because I hate it when people spoil books!
The book is good and has challenging vocabulary.
I loved the book, 5 stars.
I think the book is super-fantastic and should be called "Belch".
The book is amazing.
I think it is immature and boring (submitted by an 8th grade girl)
I would reccomend this to 7th grade boys. (also submitted by an 8th grade girl)
I think this book is really fantastic, it goes beyond rules. I would reccomend it to everyone, especially cheaters.
I like the book because it tells the story from different points of view and that makes it more interesting.
The book should be for 4-6th grade kids and adults. I think "teens" will think their to good for it. (submitted by a 6th grade boy, who loved it.)
I like that the characters are the smae age as me.

You may notice that none of the students comments/opinions contain specific details from the story, that was by the request of a student who hadn't finished the book yet. His response to all book reviewers..."I want to read the book, don't spoil it for me!"