  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 07/01/2011 Gr 1–3—Martin MacGregor is having a string of bad luck with his strict substitute teacher. No matter how hard he tries, his homework is never handed in clean and on time. The dog eats it, his mom washes it, or the wind blows it away and, as a result, Martin misses recess every day. As the week winds down, his dad encourages him to make up and complete a homework assignment that interests him. Martin had been looking forward to meeting Harriett, his teacher's pet tarantula, so he studies tarantulas, obsessively integrating them into every part of his life, including meals and pet play. When Mr. Elliott returns the next week, Martin is happily surprised (though readers won't be) by the class assignment to study and collect information about tarantulas; the best work will be rewarded with a home visit by Harriett. Though no new ground is broken here, Cook effectively deals with the frustrations of children faced with intractable authority, and Davis's colorful pencil and acrylic cartoon illustrations serve the material well.—Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC - Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 08/01/2011 Martin MacGregor is looking forward to going to school. His teacher, cool Mr. Elliot, is bringing his pet tarantula to show his students. But instead of a spider in the classroom, the kids arrive to find a tall redhead with glasses—Mrs. Payne, the dreaded substitute—and, unlike Mr. Elliot, she isn’t cool at all. Not only that, she doesn’t much like Martin and his excuses about his missing homework. But as children will see, the dog really does eat the homework—when it’s accidently spread with peanut butter. And it’s not Martin’s fault that his mother washes his jeans with his spelling list inside. Then there’s the case of the mixed-up backpacks . . . This is a one-joke story extended over several days, but although it loses steam at the end, kids will get a kick out of the round-faced, goggle-eyed characters, drawn in ink and watercolor, who jump off the pages, and they’ll identify with a boy whose teacher just doesn’t understand. - Copyright 2011 Booklist. Loading...
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