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Summary
Summary
A funny, accessible chapter-book series about an irrepressible third grader.
Marty McGuire's third-grade class has a special assignment: Save the Earth! Even more exciting, the best project wins a special award. Marty's pretty sure her classmates' ideas won't stand a chance against her plan to turn the garbage from the school cafeteria into fertilizer. All she needs is a little help from her teammate and best friend, Annie-and the worms in her Grandma's garden.
But it turns out that worms are awfully slow eaters. And when the critters escape, the whole class starts grumbling, including Annie. Can Marty save the Earth without losing her best friend?
Author Notes
Kate Messner grew up in a small town in western New York. After studying journalism and working as a television reporter, she became a middle-school English teacher. Her first novel, The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z , was published to great acclaim in 2009. Kate lives in Plattsburgh, New York.
Brian Floca is the author and illustrator of Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 and Lightship , both Sibert Honor Books. He has illustrated Avi's award-winning Poppy series and, most recently, Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan's Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring . Brian grew up in Texas and now lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-3-The spirited youngster introduced in Marty McGuire (Scholastic, 2011) returns. After Amelia Ranidae, the Frog Lady, speaks at a class assembly, she invites the children to compete in a contest to create the best Earth-friendly project. Marty and her friend Annie decide to make recycled paper, but after several attempts that include using Marty's birthday paper-doll collection and breaking her dad's food processor, the idea is no longer promising. As the girls try to figure out how to fix the mess, Marty's grandmother shows up and helps them. She also suggests another idea for them to try-a lunchroom worm farm. This project turns out to be a big hit, especially when the students think they can chuck all of their leftovers into the composter. Everything seems to go well until too much food gets dumped in the farm and the worms explode all over the cafeteria floor. Packed with eco-friendly ideas, this realistic, plot-driven early chapter book is a welcome addition to Earth Day or environmental units. The illustrations reflect the characters well, and the black-and-white drawings help to establish the mood. Readers of Annie Barrow's "Ivy and Bean" stories (Chronicle) or Megan McDonald's "Judy Moody" series (Candlewick) will enjoy Marty McGuire's adventures.-Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Marty's school is embarking on projects to save the planet. With her friend, Annie, and her Grandma Barb ("the cool one"), she creates a worm composting project for the school cafeteria--but her classmates are overeager to feed the worms. Marty's spunky personality shines in this charming prototypical elementary school tale. Accompanying black-and-white drawings cheerfully reflect the antics. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Third-grader Marty and her classmates are given a challenge by a visiting environmentalist: to develop Earth-friendly projects that she will then judge. Third-grade imaginations are untamed and funny. After an ill-conceived paper-making plan destroys her parents' food processor, Marty and her best friend Annie get involved in a worm-powered composting project that's supposed to help with wasted cafeteria food. Other classmates build a giant Super-Earth-Woman out of recycled materials, grow petunias and create a recycling-reminder buzzer. Marty, determined to win, is frustrated when her worms can't begin to keep up with the volume of garbage generated. She worries that all she has to show for her project is "a bunch of half-eaten carrot sticks and worm poop," and she's convinced that those will never save the planet. Floca's cheery black-and-white illustrations match the upbeat theme of the tale, and with at least one per brief chapter, they break up the text pages nicely. Marty's first-person commentary, sometimes just a tiny bit sarcastic, splendidly conveys the eroding innocence of middle-graders. A quick, amusing read with an easily digestible environmental message; it is a perfect match for its young intended audience. (Fiction. 6-9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Marty and her third-grade classmates take on projects to save the earth by acting locally. With help from her grandmother, Marty and a friend start a worm farm in the cafeteria to recycle some of the leftover food. The project has its glitches, but, in the end, she gets the hang of teamwork as well as compost-bin management. Narrated by Marty, the story is sometimes amusing and always engaging. The gray-washed ink drawings capture the characters' quirks and emotions with precision. This lively chapter book is the second in the Marty McGuire series.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
