Tommy Trouble and the Magic Marble

Rating:
Summary: What trouble?
Review: Tommy and his little brother want to buy a big special marble from a tough kid down the street. But first, they need to find out how to get the money - without trying to sell mom's prize roses! His brother and he find a snake and try to make a trade with that. Several episodes fill the hunt to get such an exciting marble. Each episode is its own chapter and seems to end with Tommy getting into trouble.

A nice introduction to chapter books, because the chapters are kept short. Furthermore, kids can relate to Tommy's adventures because the logic he uses is common for 9 year olds. This book is a slight departure from Fletcher's usual intermediate novels but is none the less enjoyable.

Why 4 stars?:
I liked this book from a teacher's standpoint because of its value as an introductory chapter book and realistic characters (something found in all of Fletcher's books), however, I didn't find the story to be very interesting. This could keep kids from continuing in it and getting a negative feeling about chapter books. Still, most children will still enjoy it and so it does belong in a classroom. It is already in mine.

Rating:
Summary: What trouble?
Review: Tommy and his little brother want to buy a big special marble from a tough kid down the street. But first, they need to find out how to get the money - without trying to sell mom's prize roses! His brother and he find a snake and try to make a trade with that. Several episodes fill the hunt to get such an exciting marble. Each episode is its own chapter and seems to end with Tommy getting into trouble.

A nice introduction to chapter books, because the chapters are kept short. Furthermore, kids can relate to Tommy's adventures because the logic he uses is common for 9 year olds. This book is a slight departure from Fletcher's usual intermediate novels but is none the less enjoyable.

Why 4 stars?:
I liked this book from a teacher's standpoint because of its value as an introductory chapter book and realistic characters (something found in all of Fletcher's books), however, I didn't find the story to be very interesting. This could keep kids from continuing in it and getting a negative feeling about chapter books. Still, most children will still enjoy it and so it does belong in a classroom. It is already in mine.