Arthur, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll [Hardcover]

Marc Brown (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up | Series: Arthur Adventures

Based on the primetime PBS television special coming this fall, this tie-in book finds Arthur yearning to join a rock band started by Francine. But Arthur doesn't make it through the auditions and Francine chooses Molly, Binky, Fern, and Mrs. MacGrady instead. Then the Backstreet Boys come to Elwood City and change "everything!." Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-Arthur, Francine, and the Backstreet Boys? The cover of the book announces a "prime-time television special" tie-in. Francine starts a band called U Stink and it rises to fame immediately. Then she decides she wants to disband because the other members are going commercial. Meanwhile, Arthur and friends, who didn't make the cut (for good reasons), start a band of their own. They really do stink. When the Backstreet Boys (with appropriate animal ears) stage a concert in town, everyone wants U Stink to play with them on stage. Arthur and his friends have been favorites of children for a long time, and this offering is likely to be as popular as the rest of the series. The story has a moral twist, the characters are as lovable as ever, and the colorful cartoon illustrations are cheerful, but the inevitable question is: Is Arthur "selling out?"-Kay Bowes, Concord Pike Library, Wilmington, DE
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 1-3. Arthur fans as well as children who like music will appreciate this humorous episode in the aardvark's adventures that finds Arthur's classmate Francine starting her own band. It's obvious early on that her band, U Stink, will not be a sellout like the Backstreet Boys, who are coming to town. But when bandmate Muffy corners Backstreet Boy Nick in the elevator, which conveniently becomes stuck right before the Boys concert, U Stink is asked to perform. Purist Francine resists, but eventually enthusiasm wins out; she agrees to play: "Let's rock!" she shouts. The story, a sop to pop culture, is ridiculous, but it does reflect every music fan's secret desire to be a star or meet a music idol. The familiar cast of characters doesn't disappoint, and kids will probably chuckle at the caricatures of the Boys as they exist in Arthur's world, with aardvark or rabbit ears atop each head; the real band appears in a photo on the back flap. Diane Foote
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316118540
• ISBN-13: 978-0316118545
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 0.3 x 10.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,007,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marc Brown is the creator of the bestselling Arthur Adventure book series and co-developer of the children's PBS television series, Arthur. He has also created a second book series, featuring D.W., Arthur's little sister, as well as numerous other books for children. Marc Brown lives with his family in Tisbury, Massachusetts on Martha's Vineyard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Panic... It's Only Rock and Roll, July 9, 2002

By 

George Buttner "Agent0042" (Dayton, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Arthur, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (Hardcover)

It's the popular children's series, "Arthur," and here come the Backstreet Boys. Uh oh. What's going on? The Backstreet Boys? Arthur's sold out, right? What better way to pander to today's audience, eh?

The thing is, selling out, or rather, not selling out, is actually an important theme of this book. When Francine finds her friend Muffy Crosswire watching the Backstreet Boys, she calls them "sellouts," saying that they're only interested in money. She then creates her own band, based on the theme of not selling out. Things, however, begin to fall apart when Francine begins to suspect her band members of only being in it for the money. Then, the Backstreet Boys come and teach everybody a lesson about the appreciation of music.

So, it would seem that the book version of the Backstreet Boys "Arthur" special does not overdose on the Backstreet Boys, featuring them mainly towards the end of the story. The illustrations are of the same brilliant, vibrant quality I've come to expect from the Arthur series and are pleasant to look at just in themselves. This book is definitely recommended...

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An combination that can't be beat, July 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Arthur, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (Hardcover)

I have been a fan of Arthur books ever since I began reading. This is a cute story that well illustrates that making music is truly about the music,not about the profits.
Francine,the resident tomboy of the group, is tired of her friend Muffy swooning over the Backstreet Boys. She decides to form her own group that won't be "sellouts." Her band,named U Stink,quickly becomes the hot local ticket. Francine gets irritated at her bandmates for wanting to do interviews and sell cds while Muffy conspires to become the new manager for the Backstreet Boys when they come to town. By the time the Boys come to town,the members of U Stink are all at odds with each other while Arthur and a couple of his friends rejected by Francine form a band called We Stink. At the concert,Muffy traps Nick Carter in an elevator and gives him a sales pitch. While waiting for Carter,U Stink is sent onstage to play a song but freezes. Then U Stink gets some help from the Boys to finish out the song. Afterword,the members of both "Stink" bands become friends again and Francine realizes that the BSB are about having fun while making music and that they aren't "sellouts"
Cute book recommended for Arthur and BSB fans of all ages!

1.0 out of 5 stars Did we all read the same book??!, October 12, 2011

By 

EmersonGrad - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arthur, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (Hardcover)

3 5-star ratings? Are you kidding me?! This book is awful, awful, awful.

Now that I've read the description, I understand that it was adapted from a teleplay and maybe that accounts for some of the stilted writing, but this is not at all the quality of writing I've come to expect from Marc Brown. In fact, I would have guessed that he had some contractural obligation to write this and deliberately put almost no effort into making it even remotely enjoyable.

There are plenty of other Arthur books that I enjoy (despite the fact that he does not look at all like an aardvark, which is allegedly is), but this one has got to go before my kid asks me to read it again.