Jennifer Murdley's Toad (Magic Shop Books)
by Bruce Coville, Gary A. Lippincott | Children's Books | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 0671794019 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 0671794019 Global Overview for this book
Registered by appaloosatb of Rochester, Minnesota USA on 7/25/2006
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
From Publishers Weekly
This fanciful story questions the value of beauty yet spins out of control after a promising start. Jennifer, a fifth-grader, agonizes over her appearance--"I'm just a kid in the plain brown wrapper"--and her schoolmates' taunts are doubly painful. After purchasing a toad from a mysterious shopkeeper Jennifer is amazed to discover that not only can Bufo talk, he can mimic voices unerringly. At school the canny amphibian inflicts vengeance on Sharra, a nasty classmate. When a gorgeous witch kidnaps Jennifer's youngest sibling, her evil intentions are thwarted by teamwork--and by Jennifer's sacrifices that reveal qualities surpassing mere beauty. Coville's ( Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher ) comical classroom scenes lapse into a convoluted web involving Bufo's long-lost sweetheart and the belabored idea that pulchritude denotes cruelty; unattractiveness, humanity. The book's laudable message, however, is clearly delineated, and as kind, loyal Jennifer endures a poor self-image, one hopes readers will see the light.
This fanciful story questions the value of beauty yet spins out of control after a promising start. Jennifer, a fifth-grader, agonizes over her appearance--"I'm just a kid in the plain brown wrapper"--and her schoolmates' taunts are doubly painful. After purchasing a toad from a mysterious shopkeeper Jennifer is amazed to discover that not only can Bufo talk, he can mimic voices unerringly. At school the canny amphibian inflicts vengeance on Sharra, a nasty classmate. When a gorgeous witch kidnaps Jennifer's youngest sibling, her evil intentions are thwarted by teamwork--and by Jennifer's sacrifices that reveal qualities surpassing mere beauty. Coville's ( Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher ) comical classroom scenes lapse into a convoluted web involving Bufo's long-lost sweetheart and the belabored idea that pulchritude denotes cruelty; unattractiveness, humanity. The book's laudable message, however, is clearly delineated, and as kind, loyal Jennifer endures a poor self-image, one hopes readers will see the light.
Tentatively reserved for the September "You're Such an Animal" release challenge.
Journal Entry 3 by appaloosatb at Minnesota State Fairgrounds in Falcon Heights, Minnesota USA on Thursday, August 31, 2006
Released 17 yrs ago (9/2/2006 UTC) at Minnesota State Fairgrounds in Falcon Heights, Minnesota USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES: Released as part of the September 2006 "You're Such an Animal" release challenge!
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