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The Homework Machine

Table of contents, about the book, about the author.

Dan Gutman hated to read when he was a kid. Then he grew up. Now he writes cool books like The Kid Who Ran for President ; Honus & Me ; The Million Dollar Shot ; Race for the Sky ; and The Edison Mystery: Qwerty Stevens, Back in Time . If you want to learn more about Dan or his books, stop by his website at DanGutman.com.

Product Details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (June 26, 2007)
• Length: 176 pages
• ISBN13: 9780689876790
• Grades: 3 - 7
• Ages: 8 - 12
• Fountas & Pinnell™ R These books have been officially leveled by using the F&P Text Level Gradient™ Leveling System

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The Homework Machine

Trade Paperback

LIST PRICE $7.99

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Table of Contents

About the book, about the author.

Dan Gutman hated to read when he was a kid. Then he grew up. Now he writes cool books like The Kid Who Ran for President ; Honus & Me ; The Million Dollar Shot ; Race for the Sky ; and The Edison Mystery: Qwerty Stevens, Back in Time . If you want to learn more about Dan or his books, stop by his website at DanGutman.com.

Product Details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (June 26, 2007)
• Length: 176 pages
• ISBN13: 9780689876790
• Grades: 3 - 7
• Ages: 8 - 12
• Fountas & Pinnell™ R These books have been officially leveled by using the F&P Text Level Gradient™ Leveling System

Browse Related Books

• Age 12 and Up
• Children's Fiction > Social Themes > Adolescence & Coming of Age
• Children's Fiction > Social Situations > Adolescence
• Children's Fiction > School & Education
• Children's Fiction > Humorous Stories

Awards and Honors

• ILA/CBC Children's Choices
• Maud Hart Lovelace Award Nominee (MN)
• Booklist Editors' Choice
• South Carolina Picture Book Award Nominee
• Iowa Children's Choice Award Nominee
• Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee (IN)
• Indian Paintbrush Book Award Nominee (WY)
• Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best
• Nutmeg Book Award Nominee (CT)
• Colorado Children's Book Award Master List
• Child Magazine's Guide to Top Books, Videos and Software of the Year
• Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award Master List
• Volunteer State Book Award Nominee (TN)
• Virginia Readers' Choice Award List
• Prairie Pasque Award Nominee (SD)
• Land of Enchantment RoadRunner Award Nominee (NM)
• Nene Award Nominee (HI)
• Sunshine State Young Readers' Award List (FL)
• Massachusetts Children's Book Award Nominee
• Golden Sower Award (NE)
• Sasquatch Book Award Nominee (WA)

Resources and Downloads

High resolution images.

• Book Cover Image (jpg): The Homework Machine Trade Paperback 9780689876790 (2.4 MB)

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The Homework Machine

Starting with a stern statement from the Grand Canyon, Arizona Police Chief Rebecca Fish, meet four fifth graders in big trouble. There's long-haired, rebellious, cool guy Sam Dawkins; fun-loving, unacademic, pink-haired Kelsey Donnelly, African American grind Judy Douglas, and friendless genius Brenton Damagatchi. The whole thing starts because Sam is anti-homework, especially the daily fill in-the-blank worksheets his first-year teacher Miss Rasmussen hands out. Sam is skeptical when Brenton claims he has programmed his computer to search the web and do all his homework each day, but it’s true. Soon the four seatmates are spending every afternoon in Brenton’s bedroom, printing out their daily assignments on the computer they nickname Belch. It can’t do any harm, right? The chronology and confession of their ill-fated escapade is related entirely through a series of transcripts, narrated by the four contrite kids, their parents, classmates, and Miss Rasmussen.

There are many interesting threads explored in this nimble story: keeping secrets, making friends, being popular, the morality of taking the easy way out, first crushes, the meaning of war, and even the loss of a parent. The setting of the Grand Canyon and sub-themes about playing chess, starting fads, and using a catapult will get kids looking up supporting information in books and on the Internet. Questions readers can think about as they read include: Which of the four main characters is most like or unlike you and why? Which one would or would not be your friend and why?

Reviewed by : JF.

Themes : DEATH. FRIENDSHIP. GRIEF. HUMOR.

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CRITICS HAVE SAID

• “A dramatic and thought-provoking story with a strong message about honesty and friendship.” – Elaine E. Knight, School Library Journal
• “Booktalkers will find this a natural, particularly for those hard-to-tempt readers whose preferred method of computer disposal involves a catapult and the Grand Canyon.” – Carolyn Phelan, Booklist
• “Tucked in between the laughs are excellent messages about tolerance, honesty, and the importance of what the students’ teacher calls the “homework machine [that] already exists. It’s called your brain.” – Child Magazine
• “Short chapters of alternating voices tell the story, which is funny in some places, but is not without intense and sometimes sad moments.” – Susie Wilde, Children

IF YOU LOVE THIS BOOK, THEN TRY:

• Amato, Mary. The Word Eater. Holiday House, 2000. ISBN-13: 9780823419401
• Clements, Andrew. Frindle. Simon & Schuster, 1996. ISBN-13: 9780689818769
• Clements, Andrew. Lunch Money. Simon & Schuster, 2005. ISBN-13: 9780689866852
• Clements, Andrew. No Talking. Simon & Schuster, 2007. ISBN-13: 9781416909835
• Codell, Esm Raji. Sahara Special. Hyperion, 2003. ISBN-13: 9780786816118
• Fletcher, Ralph. Flying Solo. Clarion, 1998. ISBN-13: 9780395873236
• Gutman, Dan. The Get Rich Quick Club. HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN-13: 9780060534424
• Gutman, Dan. The Kid Who Ran for President. Scholastic, 1996. ISBN-13: 9780590939881
• Gutman, Dan. Qwerty Stevens Back in Time: The Edison Mystery. Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN-13: 9780590939881
• Park, Barbara. Maxie, Rosie, and Earl—Partners in Grime. Knopf, 1990. ISBN-13: 9780679806431
• Pearsall, Shelley. All of the Above. Little, Brown, 2006. ISBN-13: 9780316115261
• Rocklin, Joanne. For Your Eyes Only! Scholastic, 1997. ISBN-13: 9780142003220
• Sachar, Louis. Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Morrow, 1978. ISBN-13: 9780380698714

The Homework Machine: The Homework Machine

We offer many activity ideas for supporting books of this type here .

You can also create your own word search, criss cross or memory match puzzle using our puzzle maker tool .

Finally, for a searchable collection of thematic leveled reading passages, click here.

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The Homework Machine

50 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction-Chapter 2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapters 9-10

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Summary and Study Guide

The Homework Machine , written by acclaimed American author Dan Gutman was first published in 2007 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and is the first of a two-book series. The second book, The Return of the Homework Machine , was published in 2011. Gutman is primarily a children’s fiction writer who has been nominated for and won numerous awards, including 18 for The Homework Machine alone. Gutman is best known for his humorous series, My Weird School , in which there are more than 70 books. He lives in New York City with his family.

The paperback edition used for this study guide was published by Simon & Schuster in 2007.

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Plot Summary

The Homework Machine is told from the perspectives of multiple characters in the format of tape recordings for a police report.

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The four main characters are fifth-grade students who are grouped at the same classroom table because their last names start with D: Sam Dawkins (Snik), Kelsey Donnelly , Judy Douglas , and Brenton Damagatchi . Other than sharing the same last initial, the students have nothing in common. Snik is the cool class smart aleck; Kelsey is laid back and doesn’t care about school; Judy is conscientious and in the gifted program; and Brenton is a loner and genius who designs software and studies psychology in his spare time. Snik pushes people’s buttons, and one day he pushes Brenton too far—implying that Brenton spends all his free time doing homework. Brenton retorts that he doesn’t spend any time doing homework and lets slip that he has invented a homework machine.

Snik calls Brenton a liar, so Brenton invites Snik, Judy, and Kelsey to his house to see for themselves. The group are stunned when Brenton’s machine prints out perfectly completed homework in Brenton’s handwriting. Brenton agrees to let Snik, Judy, and Kelsey join him after school to “do” their homework and even rewrites the software to accommodate their handwriting. The unlikely foursome spends every afternoon together, but they insist that they are not friends and that the only reason they tolerate each other is to use the homework machine, which they name Belch. Judy feels guilty about cheating but enjoys getting A’s and uses the extra time to take up ballet. Kelsey’s vastly improved grades earn her privileges, such as a belly-button piercing, from her mother. As the weeks pass, the D Squad becomes addicted to using Belch and the boundaries between their various social identities begin to blur. Snik shows an interest in “boring” chess, which Brenton plays, and Judy tries to be complimentary about Kelsey’s piercings (while finding them disgusting). Everything seems to be going well. However, things start to rapidly fall apart halfway through the year. Judy and Kelsey’s other friends resent their new associations and “unfriend” them, and their teacher, Miss Rasmussen , suspects that they are cheating.

In addition, a strange man has been stalking the group ever since Brenton designed software to instigate a hugely successful social media-driven “red socks day” that spread across America. Miss Rasmussen springs a surprise test on the class to see whether the D Squad really knows their schoolwork. Sure enough—Kelsey and Snik fail, and Judy gets a C, confirming Miss Rasmussen’s suspicions. Before Miss Rasmussen can report them, Snik’s father, who is in the military, is killed in the Middle East. This tragic event diverts Miss Rasmussen’s attention from the cheating, which seems trivial in comparison. The bond between the D Squad strengthens as the stress of keeping Belch secret increases.

Together they decide to shut Belch down, only to discover that Belch has taken on a life of its own and will not power off. They throw Belch into the Grand Canyon and feel relief as they watch it disappear. However, when backpackers find computer pieces at the bottom of the canyon, the D Squad is called into the sheriff’s office where they confess to everything. The case is closed, but their unlikely friendships continue to strengthen and grow. The stalker turns out to be someone scouting Brenton to offer him a job as an influencer for his company. The company’s clients want to market their products to kids. Brenton simply offers him an idea he would like to influence kids with: “Do your homework” (146).

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I was born in a log cabin in Illinois and used to write by candlelight with a piece of chalk on a shovel. Oh, wait a minute. That was Abraham Lincoln.

Actually, I’m a children's book author. I’ve written more than 170 books for kids from kindergarten up to middle school.

For the little ones, I write picture books like "Rappy the Raptor," about a rapping raptor named Rappy, who raps.

For beginning readers, I write "My Weird School," about some kids who go to a school in which all the grownups are crazy. Thirty-one million copies have been sold. I also write “Wait! WHAT?” a series of biographies that focus on the unusual aspects of people like Albert Einstein, Amelia Earhart, Muhammad Ali, and Teddy Roosevelt.

For middle-graders, I write the baseball card adventure series, about a boy who has the power to travel through time using a baseball card like a time machine. He goes on adventures with players like Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, and others.

For advanced readers, I write "The Genius Files," "Flashback Four,” “Houdini and Me” and others.

If you’d like to find out more, visit my web site (www.dangutman.com), my Facebook fan page, and follow me on Twitter and Instagram @dangutmanbooks.

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30 Best The Homework Machine Quotes With Image

1. Importance of teamwork: The book emphasizes the power of teamwork and collaboration. The four main characters come together to create the Homework Machine, and their ability to work together helps them overcome challenges and achieve their goals.

2. Consequences of cheating: The Homework Machine raises important ethical questions around cheating. The book explores the consequences of using the machine to complete homework assignments, and how it can impact a student's learning, integrity, and relationships with others.

3. Friendship and loyalty: The story revolves around the friendship between the four main characters, and how their loyalty to each other is tested when the secret of the Homework Machine is at risk of being exposed. The book delves into the importance of trust, honesty, and standing up for your friends.

4. Embracing differences: The characters in the book come from different backgrounds and have distinct personalities, but they learn to embrace their differences and use their unique strengths to complement each other. The story teaches the value of diversity and how it can lead to better outcomes when people work together.

5. Responsibilities and consequences: The Homework Machine presents the idea that with great power comes great responsibility. As the characters discover the capabilities of the machine, they have to grapple with the potential consequences of their actions. The book explores themes of accountability, decision-making, and understanding that one's actions can have far-reaching effects.

Introduction

5 key lessons from the homework machine, 30 best the homework machine quotes, related quotes.

PoetryVerse

Shel Silverstein

The homework machine.

The Homework Machine, Oh, the Homework Machine, Most perfect contraption that's ever been seen. Just put in your homework, then drop in a dime, Snap on the switch, and in ten seconds' time, Your homework comes out, quick and clean as can be. Here it is— 'nine plus four?' and the answer is 'three.' Three? Oh me . . . I guess it's not as perfect As I thought it would be.

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Return of the Homework Machine

Trade Paperback

LIST PRICE $7.99

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Table of Contents

About the book, about the author.

Dan Gutman hated to read when he was a kid. Then he grew up. Now he writes cool books like The Kid Who Ran for President ; Honus & Me ; The Million Dollar Shot ; Race for the Sky ; and The Edison Mystery: Qwerty Stevens, Back in Time . If you want to learn more about Dan or his books, stop by his website at DanGutman.com.

Product Details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (July 26, 2011)
• Length: 192 pages
• ISBN13: 9781416954590
• Ages: 8 - 12

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• Book Cover Image (jpg): Return of the Homework Machine Trade Paperback 9781416954590 (1.7 MB)

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Return of the homework machine

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