Mac Barnett

Exactly what it says on the tin: the First Cat goes to the moon to assist the Moon Queen in stopping the rats that are eating the moon. A stowaway "Toenail Robot" usurps the rocket's computer, leading the rocket to betray the mission and help the rats. The place names teach the characters (and readers) that names/appearances can be deceiving. Throughout, the cat says only "meow," which the other characters interpret in different ways (see also: Mumphrey's "querk" in Harriet the Invincible, Pickwick's "plock" in Thursday Next). A wacky, silly journey with a sequel to come.

See also: Batcat by Meggie Ramm… (plus d'informations)

This classic fairy tale is retold with *slightly* less gore than the original, but heaps of grossness and guile. Barnett and Klassen once again create a work that is beautiful, well-paced, clever, and captivating. This book was a WCCPBA Nominee for 23-24, providing me with a fantastic reason to read it to a couple hundred students, prompting students to check out every other version of this story in our collection, and creating a surge in fairy tale check-outs. By far, my students and my favorite version of this story! Klassen's dark, rich collages paired with Barnett's unique perspective (Once apon a time there was a bridge!), and the opportunity for students to hear of a creature eating its own belly button goop are just some of the features that kept students and me wanting to read this book again.… (plus d'informations)

{My thoughts} – Mac is back in his all new Spy Adventure. The Queen of England once again sends him off on another mission. This time he is to try and prevent the theft of the Crown Jewels. However, he fails at preventing that and then has to figure out who took them, how they took them and where they went with them.

The illustrations in the book are bright and fun. They help to add to the quality of the story as they go hand and hand with the words presented on each page. This isn’t a long book to read and all the illustrations help to make it much shorter then it originally appears.

Throughout this book there are also many facts listed when the characters are having conversations. I think that is an important aspect of any book, to have facts listed within the fictional work. I do find it annoying though when as I am reading the book says something to the effect you can look it up too. I would much rather not be told to look something up, but it is a fun little book.

I recommend this book and the series for any child that enjoys spy novels. I also think that children that enjoy going on adventures within their imaginations will also enjoy reading this book and or the series. I look forward to seeing where the next book in the series is going to take Mac.… (plus d'informations)

{My thoughts} – Mac is an interesting character. This book is written in the 1980’s. I really enjoyed reading all the references to older time within the pages of this book. I myself am a 1980’s baby and know what many of the things mentioned in this book are.

Mac is a young boy that gets a call from the Queen of England. She tells him that she needs him to do a favor for her. It turns out that some of the crown jewels were stolen and it is up to Mac to find out who took them and how to get them back.

This is a fun book with plenty of humor in it’s pages. It reminded me of a more funny but lighter version of the Alex Rider book I’d read in the past. It has some really simple illustrations on most of it’s pages that help the reader to more explore the world in which the book is written.

I recommend this book for any child that is interested in reading books about children turned into spies. I also think that children that enjoy adventure books with also enjoy this book. I look forward to reading book two in this series and seeing where Mac the spy is headed off to next.… (plus d'informations)