Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I actually skimmed through Martin Bridge:  Ready for Takeoff! on the treadmill quite awhile ago before passing it off to my seven-year-old; she just finished it tonight, however, and I’m happy to report that she thoroughly enjoyed it.  Martin is a lovable elementary schooler facing elementary school dilemmas, and author Jessica Scott Kerrin manages to lead him to resolutions sans bathroom humor, with a sweet sort of sensitivity that is often lacking in books about boys this age. My second girlie loves the emotionally complex, and this book fit the bill nicely!  She and I are both looking forward to the sequel.*

Bottom line?  Get this one for your 1st-3rd grade boys, people.  Martin deals with a cranky bus driver, a friend’s pet’s mortality, and some sticky friend conflict, all in ways that earn my parental stamp of approval.  I’m getting the first one for my 4-year-old in a year or two.

*For unimaginable reasons, Goodreads doesn’t list these books as a series.  Here’s the link I found giving the order:

http://www.mymcpl.org/cfapps/juvser/title.cfm?id=2725