Counting on Frank- Realistic Fiction

Counting on Frank is a great realistic fiction story that could even be used in a math classroom. Frank's father is always telling him that he has a brain so he should use it. That is exactly what Frank does. He turns almost every situation into a math problems. He calculates how much water it would take to fill the bathroom, how many feet a ball point pen would draw before it ran out of ink, and how many feet tall he would be if he put on every piece of clothing in his closet. Those are just a few examples of some of the crazy things that Frank comes up with throughout the story. He is curious just like any other young child. A lot of kids ask questions such as these, but don't actually take the time to figure out the answer. They seem preposterous, but everyone has wondered something of the sort at one point in their life. The end of the book even gives some math problems for the reader to figure out. This seems like a wonderful way to get children motivated to practice math. The story is so fun that they may want to figure them out so that they can be like Frank. They also would be great for a math class. The story could be read to the students and they could work in groups or as individuals to figure out the similiar problems that are offered. It would be a fun activity that would make the children feel that they can be just as smart as Frank.