Amazon.com Review
Dr. Phil meets Captain Underpants in
Max's Logbook, the latest illustrated journal of Marissa Moss, creator of the Amelia's Notebook series. Max is an imaginative, robot-loving young fellow who, as much as he would relish living on an alien planet, finds himself stuck in a house on Earth with two fighting parents. His logbook (jam-packed with sketches, doodles, and funny asides) is "for writing scientific stuff in," including experiments from "What happens when you microwave a marshmallow?" to his more poignant Invention #4--the Prevent-a-Divorce Machine, complete with toilet brush, flowers, and chocolates. Max recreates the perfect family out of eraser tops, including Eraser Dad (holding rubbery pizza) and Eraser Brother (who he can rub out when he gets mad at him). He and his friend Omar also make eraser aliens, and they draw a comic strip together with adventures like "Alien Eraser in How the Wind Blows" involving a whoopee-cushion parachute and a grim ending in a trash can. In addition to creating a colorful smorgasbord of genuinely entertaining experiments, inventions, and comics, Moss captures the pained voice of a kid who's seriously upset about his parents' impending divorce. Young people with their own "black clouds of worries" will surely be comforted by Max who maintains his sense of humor throughout and learns (from the alien eraser in his dream) that he doesn't have to choose between his divorcing parents, that he can choose his own world, "a planet that was perfect for me." (Ages 8 and older)
--Karin Snelson
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5-Like Moss's "Amelia" (Pleasant Co.), Max keeps a notebook. He records some of his inventions and experiments, but mostly he writes about his life, both at school and at home. His parents' constant fighting is troubling to him. He fears that their arguing will lead to a divorce and tries to invent a way for his mother and father to get along better. He illustrates his logbook with pictures of his "perfect family" that he drew on pencil-top erasers. The clever artwork also includes the adventures of "Alien Eraser," a comic strip that he and his friend Omar devise. There are some funny one-liners among the humorous, color illustrations. In the end, Max's folks separate, and he realizes that he doesn't have to choose one over the other. An additional purchase where Moss's books are popular.
Elaine Lesh Morgan, Multnomah County Library, Portland, Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
