Tommy Trouble and the Magic Marble - Softcover

Fletcher, Ralph

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0439340489 ISBN 13: 9780439340489

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks, 2002

Synopsis

Tommy Trouble lives up to his name when the toughest kid in town offers to sell him a special marble that prevents nightmares, and as Tommy tries to get the ten dollars he needs to buy it, he must come up with a clever scheme to keep his little brother out of the way. Reprint.

About this title

About the Author:

Ralph Fletcher is the author of many well-received books for children, from picture books to middle grade novels to young adult poetry. His book I Am Wings is a highly acclaimed collection of love poems for teenagers. Ralph Fletcher lives with his family in Durham, New Hampshire.

Ben Caldwell studied illustration at Parsons School of Design. This is the first book he has illustrated for children. He currently works as a toy designer and lives in New York City.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 1-3-In this transitional reader, eight-year-old Tommy, a born collector, needs $10 to purchase a "magic marble" from an older boy. Spencer tells him that it has a net at its center that catches bad dreams. The gullible boy's unsuccessful schemes for getting the marble include picking flowers from his mother's prize rose garden to sell to a neighbor and trading his little brother's snake for it. However, when Spencer makes fun of his sibling, Tommy finally decides that the magic marble is not worth the trouble. It's unlikely that this slight story line will hold readers' interest, and while marbles still hold a certain fascination for this age group, they are way down on a list headed by Gameboys and Pok mon cards. Rudimentary black-and-white cartoons capture the characters' moods but occasionally appear out of proportion. Overall, Fletcher's book lacks the humor or adventure of Barbara Park's "Junie B. Jones" series or Mary Pope Osborne's "Magic Tree House" books (both Random). Stick with these more appealing choices or others like them.
Steve Clancy, Colonial Village Elementary School, Niagara Falls, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0439340489
• ISBN 13: 9780439340489
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 47
• Illustrator: Caldwell Ben