Dead Possums are Fair Game

What it’s About:

The world would be a better place without math or messy roommates. At least, that’s what Ella Hunter believes. Life is about keeping order and avoiding long division, fractions, or really anything with an equal sign.

As the end of the school year approaches, the fifth-grade teachers at Victor Waldo Elementary conclude there’s not enough time to complete a new math unit before summer break. Great news for math-phobic Ella, right?

Wrong! The teachers decide instead to have their students host the first-ever Math Fair. And the fair project is worth two major math grades.

Add in one dead possum plus two horrible roommates who come to stay while their house is being renovated, and you have an equation for disaster. Ella is headed for summer school and math tutoring for sure. Can she stop her troubles from multiplying before it’s too late?

Cole’s Take:

Dead Possums are Fair Game is an amusing story by Taryn Sounders. I read this story fast and laughed at least five times, probably more. It starts when Ella, who hates and avoids math, hears that there’s going to be a math fair.

Things only get worse for her when she hears that if she gets lower than a B, she will be put in summer school. With this much on the line, she knows she has to get an A at the fair.

This book is funny and so much like real life. I recommend Dead Possums are Fair Game to mostly girls and some boys age 7-12.