Arthur and the Race to Read (Arthur Good Sports #1) [Paperback]

Marc Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001 | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Marc Brown Arthur Good Sports Chapter Books (Book 1)

Arthur and the Race to Read To raise money for a literacy drive, everyone at Arthur's school is going to run a race together. Arthur and his friends buddy up to train, but Fern seems uninterested in winning or even just improving her speed. Will everyone else be able to inspire her in time for Race Day? Presented in chapter-book format, for children who are ready to read on their own, this tale of competition will surely be a hit among Arthur fans.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marc Brown is the author and illustrator of the Arthur Adventure series and D.W. titles and codeveloper of the two-time Emmy Award-winning PBS children's television series, Arthur. He lives with his family in Hingham, Massachusetts, and on Martha's Vineyard.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316120243
• ISBN-13: 978-0316120241
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.2 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,053,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Arthur and the Race to Read, November 11, 2007

By 

Anna M. Ligtenberg "AnnaLovesBooks" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Arthur and the Race to Read (Arthur Good Sports #1) (Paperback)

ISBN 0316120243 - A children's book featuring children who understand the importance of reading... really, what could be bad about that? Not a lot! Add in the positives of characters children recognize with diverse personalities that kids can relate to and you've got a winner. Not because it's a superb book (it's a good book) but because if you hand a child an incredible book that s/he won't read, well that's NOT a winner.

Arthur and his friends all have a different approach to running and when a race to raise funds for a literacy program is announced, their approaches are put to the test. They train, study and prepare for fame. Fern, however, just "enjoys the view" and the pressure from her friends to join them in being competitive drives her to avoid them. On the day of the big race, each of the friends falls victim to their own training choices and the winner is... the winner is the literacy program!

I like that the group to benefit from the race is a program to put books in kids' hands, a nice message for a book to carry. There is the comparison to the tortoise and the hare story, but that hardly takes a genius to make that connection - Arthur himself says it on the last page. Rather than view that as a negative, I recommend using old friends like Arthur to lead your child to Aesop.

The illustrations are cartoon quality but are only black and white, a disappointment for fans of the show. Other than that, a nice chapter book for young readers, with a good lesson in the importance of reading that plants the idea that kids can help others overcome illiteracy.

- AnnaLovesBooks

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for a second grader, February 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Arthur and the Race to Read (Arthur Good Sports #1) (Paperback)

My son loved this book. I bought it awhile ago, when he was just learning to read. It wasn't the right time. So, it set forgotten on a shelf. A year or two later, when one rainy Sunday afternoon he ran out of his favourite Magic Tree House books, we found this one. And he loved it. It is a little bit more challanging to read, but he sailed right through it!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If I Wanted to Read "The Tortoise and the Hare...", June 15, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: Arthur and the Race to Read (Arthur Good Sports #1) (Paperback)

I'd read "The Tortoise and the Hare." Unfortunately, this isn't a good start to the Arthur Good Sports series, which has many good offerings. The idea is that a race is being held to raise money for reading. Fern, however, doesn't really seem interested in all of the crazy training everybody else is doing to get ready for the race. The thing is, readers who've read "The Tortoise and the Hare" can smell the ending a mile away. It's terribly predictable and overall not a very good story.