Based on the characters created by Susan Meddaugh
Published at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
About the book
Martha can’t believe that Helen and Alice are making such a fuss about the new kitten in the neighborhood. Everyone knows that cats, even kittens, are not to be tolerated. But when the sweet and gentle kitty starts making googly eyes at Martha and following her around, will our favorite communicating canine learn to be more accepting? This funny and thoughtful story teaches kids the importance of looking beyond the surface when choosing and making friends.
Includes fun word search activity and glossary of terms.
My Thoughts
After a month of being away due to a contract my husband got out of town, I was pleased to be back home – until I saw the ton of mail that was waiting for me… However, it wasn’t that bad and in the mix of all I discovered a package from Thomas Allen containing books. One of the books included in this package was Martha Speaks – Purrfect Friends which my son Dominic asked immediately if he could read.
Was it because the first page was a comic strip kind of page or that the characters were animals (which he adores), but he sat down and read the whole book. Now coming from a child that is like his dad and struggled to learn to read it is quite an accomplishment. Actually, he recently decided to start a novel after his older brother read a specific series and loved it.
Let’s get back to the book. Some of you know the television series Martha Speaks. I stumbled on it once I think. Not having cable makes it hard to follow the latest television shows for kids. But from what I know of the character, I think I wouldn’t have any problem letting my little daughter watch it. Anyhow, Martha learned to speak after eating alphabet soup… since then she is a very talkative dog. In Purrfect Friends, Martha and Skits assume that a new dog has come in the neighborhood when they hear the word shelter. But they got quickly surprised when they discover that the puppy is in fact a kitten.
The book makes emphasis on discrimination and judging others by the way they look. I love this kind of teaching in a book and after reading Purrfect Friends I would strongly recommend it to anyone wanting to teaching about discrimination and prejudice. The story is fun to read and the complicated words are explained in it. The images are beautiful and you can’t help yourself than to fall in love with this adorable kitten.
This is our first experience with Martha Speaks books and I really like the teaching moment in it. Teaching my kids to be nice with everyone no matter how they look is a priority. I want them to be able to see the potential in someone instead of judging them.
Martha Speaks – Purrfect Friends is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.
Disclaimer: Thanks to Thomas Allen for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment