Peanut Butter and Homework Sandwiches

June 1, 2011

When a beloved teacher is replaced by a substitute for the week, Martin lives out every homework excuse in the book.

On Monday, his dog eats the peanut butter and jelly off his homework...and his homework, too. He has to redo it and miss recess. On Tuesday, it goes through the wash. He writes lines and misses recess. By this time, readers will be wondering what other tragedy will befall the unlucky Martin. On Thursday, he grabs the wrong backpack and has a dolly instead of his homework. That night, his dad suggests that the morose Martin think of something interesting to research on the computer as a cure for the boring homework blues. But on Friday, his homework woes continue when a gust of wind snatches his definitions. The following Monday, Martin drags himself into the classroom prepared for something to have happened to his homework once again. But to his surprise, his teacher is back with a homework assignment that is right up Martin's alley. Davis' toothy cartoon characters are wonderfully expressive, especially the hapless Martin. The bright colors and humorous situations are certain to keep readers' attention as they try to guess what could possibly happen to Martin next.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

July 1, 2011

Gr 1-3-Martin MacGregor is having a string of bad luck with his strict substitute teacher. No matter how hard he tries, his homework is never handed in clean and on time. The dog eats it, his mom washes it, or the wind blows it away and, as a result, Martin misses recess every day. As the week winds down, his dad encourages him to make up and complete a homework assignment that interests him. Martin had been looking forward to meeting Harriett, his teacher's pet tarantula, so he studies tarantulas, obsessively integrating them into every part of his life, including meals and pet play. When Mr. Elliott returns the next week, Martin is happily surprised (though readers won't be) by the class assignment to study and collect information about tarantulas; the best work will be rewarded with a home visit by Harriett. Though no new ground is broken here, Cook effectively deals with the frustrations of children faced with intractable authority, and Davis's colorful pencil and acrylic cartoon illustrations serve the material well.-Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2011
Grades K-2 Martin MacGregor is looking forward to going to school. His teacher, cool Mr. Elliot, is bringing his pet tarantula to show his students. But instead of a spider in the classroom, the kids arrive to find a tall redhead with glassesMrs. Payne, the dreaded substituteand, unlike Mr. Elliot, she isn't cool at all. Not only that, she doesn't much like Martin and his excuses about his missing homework. But as children will see, the dog really does eat the homeworkwhen it's accidently spread with peanut butter. And it's not Martin's fault that his mother washes his jeans with his spelling list inside. Then there's the case of the mixed-up backpacks . . . This is a one-joke story extended over several days, but although it loses steam at the end, kids will get a kick out of the round-faced, goggle-eyed characters, drawn in ink and watercolor, who jump off the pages, and they'll identify with a boy whose teacher just doesn't understand.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)