Marty the Magnificent is a fun book about nocturnal animals of Australia. Marty, the main character, tries to get his nocturnal friends to stay up during the daytime with him. Eventually, he decides to spend the extra hours awake learning a new skill to entertain his friends. Hence, the title of the book. I received this story as an early reviewer. It came as an ebook without illustrations and was missing text on a couple of pages in the middle of the story, so I couldn't keep my three-years-old as engaged as he usually is with books. The storyline is a fun one, however. As an American, I loved that it had animals from another part of the world and all with similar behaviors. If I had the finished version of the book, I know my son would have loved to learn more about these animals. ( )

Interesting story that reviewed many of the unusual animals in Australia. I particularly liked the illustrations. Received by mistake as I have no residents of a suitable age. ( )

Marty the Magnificent is a charming younger reader picture book about a koala bear and his friends who live in the country of Australia. As the story begins, the reader finds Marty the koala bear wide awake at the beginning of sunrise and wondering what to do. The author explains that koala bears are nocturnal and gives a small description of what the word nocturnal means. Throughout the story, we meet several of Marty's friends as he tries to convince them to play with him. Again, the reader learns that most of Marty's friends are nocturnal animals like Marty. Some of the other animals are listed and the illustrator, Ms. Togoe, creates simple pictures that the reader may identify as a platypus, a kangaroo and her joeys, and eventually, a wombat, and owl. The owl encourages Marty the koala bear to explore and learn new activities and share them with his friends, which Marty does by the end of the book.

The illustrations are simple, but well done. The story is interesting and fun to read. A preschool child would enjoy reading this book with an adult because of the rhythm of the words. An adult would have to explain more about those unusual words, like nocturnal, and the names of the animals. I think that an older child about the age of 6 or 7 could understand a little better, or at least look up the words on the internet. I believe the authors were actually encouraging teachers to use the book as part of their lesson plans for teaching nature. This is a good book for teaching along with a supplement of photos of nocturnal animals.

The only thing that I would suggest to change is the introduction. The authors immediately present the reader with a statement about the endangerment of koala bears and their habitats and it sets an unhappy tone to start a happy book. I would love to see that section in the back pages of the book, along with the introduction of the authors and. perhaps, an internet connection or an address that the reader could find and learn more about endangered animals and their habitats.

Overall, Marty the Magnificent is a happy book and I'm sure it will be enjoyed. ( )

This is an enjoyable children’s book. I like the message about kids not only entertaining themselves, but also that they could take their time to learn new things. In addition to that lesson, there is a nice selection of Australian animals represented here and any children interested in creatures will get a kick out of the variety shown. It’s a great starting point for discussions on the animals and their habits (compared to animals awake in the day). My only reason for knocking off a star is the missed opportunity to give details on the plight of the koalas. If this character becomes a series, I think more could be done with the message about loss of habitat for koalas and the other animals shown in the book. It wouldn’t need to be heavy/dark, but it could impart an important lesson for kids that is generally overlooked (or at least overlooked without making it the focal point of the story). This is a fun children’s book and I hope to see more from the authors going forward! ( )

This is a cute book for K-3. The illustrations are beautiful, the storyline is simple. Children will enjoy listening and reading the story of Marty the Koala. Marty has a hard time going to sleep and finds a way to entertain himself and friends. I would like to read more books by Ms. Broussard in the future. ( )