genre of the book homework machine

The Homework Machine

50 pages • 1 hour read

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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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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)

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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

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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More books from this author: Dan Gutman

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The Homework Machine Hardcover – March 1, 2006

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• Book 1 of 2 The Homework Machine
• Print length 160 pages
• Language English
• Grade level 3 - 7
• Lexile measure 680L
• Dimensions 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.25 inches
• Publisher Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date March 1, 2006
• ISBN-10 0689876785
• ISBN-13 978-0689876783
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Repackage edition (March 1, 2006)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0689876785
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0689876783
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 11 years, from customers
• Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 680L
• Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.25 inches
• #3,273 in Children's Values Books
• #6,332 in Children's School Issues
• #15,310 in Children's Friendship Books

About the author

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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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

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• 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 Books

The Homework Machine

The homework machine series.

The Creative Behind the Books

Dan Gutman is the New York Times bestselling author of the Genius Files series; the Baseball Card Adventure series, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies around the world; and the My Weird School series, which has sold more than 12 million copies. Thanks to his many fans who voted in their classrooms, Dan has received nineteen state book awards and ninety-two state book award nominations. He lives in New York City with his wife, Nina. You can visit him online at www.dangutman.com.

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The Homework Machine — by Dan Gutman

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The Homework Machine Series in Order (2 Books)

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RETURN OF THE HOMEWORK MACHINE

by Dan Gutman ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 2, 2009

Sitting in the local police station, sixth graders Snik, Judy, Kelsey and Brenton and their teacher recount the events that led them there: the loss of a unique computer chip and their search in the Grand Canyon for Egyptian treasure. Readers of The Homework Machine (2006) will welcome the return of familiar characters and appreciate the addition of a classmate whose plans for the superchip are less than savory. This sequel stands alone, however, satisfyingly suspenseful in its several strands. Besides the search for the chip, there is Brenton’s creation of a web-based doomsday cult surrounding the Grand Canyon, their new interest in rocketry and old newspaper reports of an Egyptian treasure. With their teacher, they hike to the canyon bottom, raft on the river and scale the walls to find treasure, a corpse and a dangerous man. Gutman weaves this all together, revealing it chronologically through the voices of those involved, a complicated structure that is surprisingly easy to follow. Briskly told, this middle-grade adventure should have wide appeal. (Fiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: June 2, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-4169-5416-3

Page Count: 176

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2009

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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BOOK REVIEW

by Dan Gutman ; illustrated by Allison Steinfeld

by Dan Gutman

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BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE

by Kate DiCamillo ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2000

A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice. India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too. A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)

Pub Date: March 1, 2000

ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2

Page Count: 182

Publisher: Candlewick

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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by Kate DiCamillo

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SEEN & HEARD

CHARLOTTE'S WEB

by E.B. White illustrated by Garth Williams ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 1952

The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...

A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.

Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952

ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952

More by E.B. White

by E.B. White & illustrated by Maggie Kneen

by E.B. White illustrated by Fred Marcellino

by E.B. White illustrated by Garth Williams

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Uploaded by Lotu Tii on December 19, 2012

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