Pelly feels miserable because she looks different from her Martian classmates, but a glamorous opera singer who visits her class shows Pelly that her differences make her special.
Kindergarten-Grade 2--In this picture book, multihued, variously appendaged Martians stand in for humans with anxieties that are easily recognizable and translatable to a young child's experience. Tera's family is "normal": she and her parents have matching tentacles, the family baby has two heads. The problem with Pelly, as Tera is happy to remind her, is that she and her family are different, "weird," with their waving fluffernobbins on top of their heads, which serve as both hair and mouths. When a special visitor is announced-Madama Da Luna from the Grand Martian Opera-Pelly yearns to impress the guest by emulating her classmates, but her attempts backfire. Good-humored, cartoonlike illustrations and a happy resolution-Madama Da Luna has a fluffernobbin, too, and Pelly turns out to have an operatic voice-will reassure the audience. This subject is an evergreen one, and has been covered regularly, notably in Rosemary Wells's Yoko (Hyperion, 1998), which uses lunchtime snacks to explore cultural differences. Corey's version is slightly heavy-handed, leaving nothing unexplained, but Teague's sprightly illustrations save the story from outright didacticism. This book follows Horus's Horrible Day (Scholastic, 2001) and children who enjoyed it will find the same universe jauntily depicted here.
Dona Ratterree, The Parkside School, New York CityCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
The space age series continues with First Graders from Mars Episode 2: The Problem with Pelly by Shana Corey, illus. by Mark Teague. Pod 1 is expecting a visit from a famous Martian opera singer, and pals Tera and Pelly draw pictures to decorate the classroom. "Your family is weird," Tera says, eyeing Pelly's family portrait; with "fluffernobbins" on their heads instead of tentacles, Pelly's family is unusual. But the appearance of the fluffernobbined diva helps Pelly to accept his differences.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Ages 5-7. Pelly's Pod 1 class is preparing for a distinguished visitor, a singer from the Grand Martian Opera, and everyone except Pelly is excited. Pelly was normal on her old planet, but on Mars she's teased for having a fluffernobbin instead of tentacles, and she worries that the guest will think she's weird. Ultimately, Pelly discovers that differences can be something to sing about. Of course, the message is nothing new, but the Martian setting clearly and humorously shows that normality is really relative. Corey writes simply, peppering her story with nonsensical but easy-to-understand "Martian" terms, and Teague's brightly colored, appropriately goofy cartoon-style art (there's a picture on every page) is filled with zany, expressive otherworldly characters. Kids will enjoy the silly setting and like seeing the alien kids engaged in familiar (as well as some unusual) primary-grade activities.
Shelle RosenfeldCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
