Martha Calling

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Summary: Especially good for dog lovers...
Review: I love reading this book to my kids age 3 and 6. It makes me laugh as well as them! I have given it as gifts several times. I especially enjoyed giving this to a vet. friend's son! The other Martha books are good too, but if you can only have one, I think this one is the best.

Rating:
Summary: martha calling
Review: I love this book. Anyone who has a dog will love this book. Actually, anyone will love this book. A funny, touching,
story that is wonderfully illustrated. I know it's a children's book and they will love the story but it's also a great book for adults.

Rating:
Summary: Yakety Yak
Review: When I heard that "Martha Calling" had made the New York Public Library's "100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know", I immediately decided to read it. By mistake, I accidentally picked up the first Martha book, "Martha Speaks", in which a clever canine who can speak (due to a healthy diet of alphabet soup) foils a burglar's plot. The book was fine. Not particularly different from any other, except perhaps that it used cartoonish bubbles to convey speech (not too common in picture books as of now). So I returned it and located "Martha Calling" next. To my chagrin, the book is not quite as good as its predecessor. Yes, we still have that lovable puppy dog yabbering away and causing all sorts of kooky adventures, but the emotional impact found in the first book is lacking here.

Martha's just as talky as ever, but her new favorite toy is undoubtedly the phone. One day Martha's non-stop mouth helps her to win a radio contest. The prize is a free weekend for four at the cozy Come-On-Inn. Unfortunately, no dogs are allowed at the inn in question. Disguising the dog as Grandma Martha, the week-end goes kablooey when a well-meaning housekeeper falls under the impression that Martha the dog has eaten Martha the Grandma. After some explanations on our protagonist's part, all ends up well and the inn remodels itself as a dog-friendly establishment.

Where in "Martha Speaks" we felt Martha's pain at being chastised for talking too much (a thing many children have to deal with once they themselves learn to talk), here the book is dealing with discrimination. Somehow, the more serious subject matter is less effective in the long run. There is plenty to be amused at in this book, no question. But it's just fluff in the end. Which is fine if all you're looking for is a bit of entertainment to read to the kiddies at night. Martha is a fine pooch to watch and there are plenty of little tiny tidbits to catch the eye. I was particularly taken with the final picture in the book of the many dogs and their owners dining at the now renamed Sit-n-Stay Hotel. To one side a cat crouches, eyeing the other animals while its owner cries, "Leave those dogs alone Liebchen!". I've suddenly been inspired to name my own cat Liebchen someday. By the way, make sure you understand who the SPCA is before reading this book with the kiddies. Martha mentions it more than once in her "No Dogs Allowed" anger(...)