Perfectly Martha (Martha Speaks) - Hardcover

Meddaugh, Susan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 061837857X ISBN 13: 9780618378579

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2004

Synopsis

What do people really want from a dog? When Otis Weaselgraft opens up his Perfect Pup Institute, promising to train even the most drooling, barking, scratching, squirrel-chasing dog to be perfectly obedient in only three steps, Martha smells a rat. She knows dogs are already perfect. But Weaselgraft claims he can make man’s best friend even better. Word of his amazing program spreads through the neighborhood—soon half the dogs in town are enrolled at the Perfect Pup Institute. But there’s something strange about the Perfect Pup graduates, and Martha is determined to find out what it is . . .

About this title

About the Author

Susan Meddaugh was born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey. She graduated from Wheaton College, where she studied French literature and fine arts. After working briefly with an advertising agency in New York, she moved to Boston and worked at a publishing company for ten years, first as a designer, then art editor, and finally as art director. While there, she did the illustrations for GOOD STONES (Houghton Mifflin) by Anne Epstein, and then decided to strike out on her own as a freelance illustrator and creator of children's books. Since that time, Susan has written and illustrated many popular books for children, including MARTHA SPEAKS, which was chosen as a NEW YORK TIMES Best Illustrated Book for 1992. In 1998 she was awarded the New England Book Award, given by the New England Booksellers Association to recognize a body of work. Her work also was acknowledged with a New York Times Best Illustrated Award. She lives in Sherborn, Massachusetts.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. In her sixth adventure, Martha the talking dog becomes a crime stopper when she exposes a pair of scam artists. Martha is disturbed by the newly opened Perfect Pup Institute, which advertises "a perfect dog in one day." After one class, run by oily partners Otis Weaselgraft and Dr. Pablum, dogs become robotically obedient; they even stop chasing squirrels. Determined to uncover Weaselgraft's secret, Martha enters the institute, but Dr. Pablum overhears her speaking and dognaps her for study. While incarcerated, Martha learns the crooks' trick (the RoboRover Brain Stopper, a collar device that freezes all but the obedience lobe of a dog's brain) and manages to humiliate Weaselgraft as she reveals his plot to the public. The story's pace meanders a bit. But as in Martha's other stories, Meddaugh's expressive, energetic cartoon drawings and clever text asides make a winning combination. Many children will recognize Martha's frustration with the adults who try to tame the spirit out of their young canines. Who needs obedience school? Martha wonders. "Dogs are already perfect." Gillian Engberg
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About this edition

• Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 061837857X
• ISBN 13: 9780618378579
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32