Perfectly Martha

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Funny, entertaining, and explores point of view.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

Not yet rated

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that in addition to being attractive, funny, and entertaining, the Martha books offer an opportunity for children to explore point of view. Since the title character can speak, she shares her thoughts and observations about both the canine and the human world, often with interesting insight.

What's the story?

Martha, the alphabet soup talking dog, is suspicious of Otis Weaselcraft, owner of the Perfect Pup Institute. His Three-Step Training Program turns fun-loving, flea-scratching dogs into perfectly behaved, robo-dogs and Martha sets out to discover how. Kidnapped by Weaselcraft's assistant, Dr. Pablum, when he overhears her speaking, Martha suddenly finds herself on the inside of the institute.

There she discovers that Weaselcraft is attaching Robo Rover Brain Blocker microchips to the inside of the dogs' collars. Martha bribes Dr. Pablum to plant a microchip on the collar of Otis Weaselcraft and then she puts Weaselcraft through his own series of obedience commands, thus exposing his dastardly scam. With the microchips removed, all of the dogs revert to their adorably pesky selves.


Is it any good?

 

This is the sixth in Meddaugh's series of Martha books that began with Martha Speaks which was named a New York Times Best Illustrated Book in 1992. She has maintained her high standard throughout the series with lively, deadpan hilarious, watercolor illustrations, snappy dialogue, cartoon bubble wisecrack commentary, and clever story lines. This latest adventure is as fresh and entertaining as the first.


Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

What families can talk about

Families can talk about point of view and different perspectives. Do you think a dog might see the world differently than you do? How? If your pets could talk, what do you think they would say to you?


This review was written by Marigny Dupuy
Kid, 12 years old
April 9, 2008
 
I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;)
Prfectly Martha is one of my most favorite books! It ws an outragus book!!! you will laugh out loud if you read this.

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by Marigny Dupuy
Author:Susan Meddaugh
Illustrator:Susan Meddaugh
Book type:Fiction
Genre:Picture Book
Publisher:Houghton Mifflin Children's Books
Publication date:April 17, 2004
Number of pages:32
Hardcover price:$15.00
Publisher's recommended age(s):4 - 7

This review was written by Marigny Dupuy
 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.

Register now to save reviews and advice articles to your personal lists!


About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

 

vote now

Will you read Perfectly Martha?


Already read it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it