We homeschool, but at some point in the near future our second grader will likely be taking some form of standardized test. We use the usual bland Test prep books and I was excited to check out an alternative called Attack of the Chicken Nugget Man: A National Test Prep Adventure
. It is written by educator, Kamar Sathy. 
'This laugh-out-loud children's book is aligned with the new Common Core State Standards. It covers 2nd - 5th grade English Language Arts and Mathematics. Attack of the Chicken Nugget Man: A National Test Prep Adventure is a hilarious story that teaches and references curriculum concepts that students in all states need to learn!'
My review of the book is in two parts –my opinion and that
of our Second grader.
I thought the introduction for parents and educators
was very helpful and I was excited to get to the rest of it. I enjoyed the first two
chapters, especially the reading comprehension questions
at the end of each chapter. By the end of the fourth chapter I was starting to
have my doubts about the storyline. I was unsure how a story about unbearably
stinky bus rides and bullies are supposed to alleviate test anxiety. I
understand the book is fiction. The story is supposed to hold the attention of
students Grade 2-5 while they are practicing with the multiple choice questions and learning
test strategies. The teachable moments are skillfully disguised in the story. The concept is good, it was the plot I took issue with.
I finished the book and DD7, seeing the cartoon pictures, wanted to
read it. I handed over my kindle. Half an hour later she was still reading
and I asked her what she thought. She says ‘it’s fine' and goes back to reading’.
Her usual chapter book genre is anything Animal, Unicorns and fairies, so I was
surprised. Apparently the only thing she had to complain about was that there
were no pictures of Chicken nugget man. So there we have it, DD implied I was overreacting
and suggests I didn’t like it because ‘you’re not a kid’.
Overall, it is great to see an alternative to Test preparation
workbooks. I have some reservations about the storyline but it is clearly not
aimed towards the Mama demographic. As DD points out it is for kids. It would
be great to see some other story lines in the future. DD suggests a female Super
hero.
