Farm Dog Martha

March 1, 2010
K-Gr 2-At first glance, "Farm Dog Martha" seems early-reader-friendly with its winsome cartoon illustrations of lovable, comical Martha. But turning the first few pages soon spotlights some graphic design and layout problems. In one spread, an illustration of a flock of sheep overlaps a picture of Martha on her bed at home. Crowded onto this same spread is a large picture of a coyote snarling at the sheep from the top right side. This jumbling of too many actions on one spread hinders readability. In trying to match picture clues with the text, beginning readers will become confused. The large typeface and short lines of text offset these issues in minor ways. In contrast, "Play Ball!" is a more successful blend of text and pictures, with both contributing equally to a fun early-reading experience in well-balanced spreads. Martha teaches her friend Truman how to catch a ball. Roomy white space surrounds text and illustrations, helping to create a focus. Beginning readers will be able to infer what new words mean, since the pictures showing them are placed alongside. The text and illustrations orchestrate together, so that less on each page is truly more."James K. Irwin, Evanston Public Library, IL"

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