Customer Reviews

Marvin Monster's Big Date

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Marvin Monster's Big Date is a fun read for parents, teachers and kids alike. The book has a place in both the home and school library where it is sure to be reached for often. This is a 'read' to book for the K-1 set, and a 'read with help' for the older primaries. This is a book I would be happy to use in my own K-1 classroom.

Enjoyed the read, happy to recommend.

Marvin Monster's Big Date is an "early reader" chapter book. It specifically targets new and older struggling readers. Its chapters are smaller than most chapter books and the text is perfect for new readers, especially for children ages 6 - 9 who find titles like Harry Potter far too challenging. As a parent/teacher what I enjoyed most about Marvin Monster was the opportunity struggling 3rd/4th grade readers will find for reading success. Often, new and struggling (older) readers are intimated by "thick" chapter books and become discouraged before they even finish the first chapter. I'm delighted the author has created a series like Marvin Monster. The book is labeled "early reader" and offers comments from teachers on its back cover. The www.marvinmonster.com website is wonderful and has lots of educational worksheets and other printable pages to go with the book. Lastly, in Marvin Monster's Big Date the writing is fresh and introduces new words while entertaining readers with fun characters and a satisfying plot. I believe this is a perfect book for 2nd and 3rd graders and may also be a nice buy for a reluctant reader because the main idea isn't preachy and the characters are appealing for the targeted ages. It's a fantastic read!

My daughter is eight and she loves it! I especially love the characters! The author did a terrific job.

What J.K. Rowling did for wizards and witches, Tabatha Jean D'Agata does for werewolves. Her hero, Marvin Monster, attends second grade at Grim Castle Elementary, lives in Marshville, Transylvania, and celebrates his birthday on Friday, September 13-an honor and a big deal for monsters. Kids are fascinated by monsters, and they'll identify with Marvin's trials during one day of school, a rather important day. Marvin has his first official date...but everything goes hilariously wrong! An entertaining book.

I'm not a child, nor am I a parent or teacher, so I suppose I have very little right to actually express an opinion. But for what it's worth, I will anyway. I'm afraid I wasn't particularly impressed with Marvin Monster. I realize that wizards, witches, and monsters are all the rage, and I enjoy them as much as anyone--I enjoyed the Harry Potter series, for instance--but Marvin seems a little tepid even for young readers. Although I can see that proper behavior with regard to peers and promises should be incalcated into the young, I suspect that even those of 6-9 might find this less appealing than the Lemony Snicket or Harry Potter series. For the upper age range, the book might seem too patronizing while for the lower range many of the references may not make sense without the interuption of an explanation. How many 5 or 6 year olds actually have a grasp of the superstitious beliefs behind a reference to Friday the 13th? How many would know what a banshee is--how many adults really do? The book is not expensive, and certainly if the parent thinks their child would enjoy it, it's fine, but I think there are better ways of spending the money for reading material and better inclusions in a child's personal library.