AR Level – 4.8
Points – 8
Interest Level –Middle Grades
I am torn. Torn between whether or not to use this book as a read aloud or a novel unit. It would be great either way. So truly I can’t make a mistake here. It is more about being selfish really. Do I want to bring these characters to life through my own voice and expression? Or do I want the kiddos to be able to do that themselves. Sigh… decisions, decisions.
So I guess you can figure out that this one is a keeper. A keeper in my collection of literature for children. Actually I admit it is pretty good for adults as well.
James’s eleventh birthday party is a flop. His mother arranged it, invited all of the guests, and didn’t bother to ask James for any input. Worse yet, the guests are all somehow connected to his mother’s real estate business prospects. Pretty selfish huh? James has a horrible time and feels very much like an outcast in his own life. He appears to be all-around miserable.
Enter Marvin. The beetle pictured on the front cover. Marvin and his family live behind the wall, under the kitchen sink. They pretty much keep things together in the old Manhattan apartment in order to not be found out by any type of repairman or inspector. When the microwave breaks, Marvin’s Uncle fixes it. James’s mother, Mrs. Pompaday loses a contact down the sink and Marvin swims down in the murky drain water to fetch it. The beetle family is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the Pompaday’s happy and away from the phone to call the plumber.
Marvin loves James. He wants to make his birthday the best one yet. He just can’t figure out what sort of gift he could give him in order to accomplish this feat. He decides on a Buffalo nickle and rolls it into James’s room in the middle of the night. He leaves it exactly where James will find it, in the middle of the floor. Upon delivering James’s gift, Marvin stumbles upon a gift of his own…in a different sense.
James’s father is an artist. He bought James a pen and ink set for his birthday. And while James really showed no interest in the gift, Marvin stumbles upon the set and becomes transfixed while dipping his front legs in the ink and placing them on the art paper. What he creates while James sleeps is his first masterpiece. It is a miniature pen and ink drwing of the scene outside the bedroom window.
Upon waking the next morning James discovers the nickle. He is thrilled with the find. But he is even more thrilled to find the drawing. So is his mother. And now she wants to show it to prospective real estate clients for possible sales to decorate their homes. Even worse…she thinks James has drawn the picture….and James hasn’t led her to believe any different.
Marvin and James become close friends even though they can’t communicate in traditional senses. Even more close when James is asked to copy a miniature Dürer masterpiece as part of an undercover art heist at the NY Met.
This book is thoughtfully written. It includes a perfect mixture of relationships, integrity, virtues, art history, action and suspense. I love it.
Now…how am I going to decide how to use this one in class this year?
PS…NO questionable content. LOVE THAT!
The start of school is behind us and we are into our 2nd week. I introduced the students to our class blog which is being hosted at www.kidblog.org and I have been amazed at how excited and focused they are on their writing. Not only are they generating thoughtful posts on which they are experts. They are also generating thoughtful comments on each other’s blogs. Now I have never been an expert on writing by any stretch. But I do know that in the past I have struggled to get kids excited about writing. By weaving technology and writing together, I have been successful at getting a much higher level of buy-in from the students. This is year is no different. Plus, they are writing for fun. Fun…that’s right…fun. I am only requiring the kids to post one entry on his or her blog each week as part of the overall spelling grade. Most kids are posting more than that already. My daughter included. Not because I asked her to. Not because she wants to impress me. Not because she wants to have the most entries in the class. But because she WANTS to post. She wants to have content on which others will comment. The comments of the other kids and the feedback received by the parents of the other students in my classroom are driving her to want to post more work. Will this be a phase? Will it get boring and end soon? I have no idea, but I am enjoying it while it lasts!
