Marco's Monster - Softcover

Grade 3-5. The two friends from The Secret Super Power of Marco (HarperCollins, 1994) are back. Their fourth-grade class is putting on a play, "Cool Girl and the Monsters," loosely based on Beauty and the Beast. Marco is sure he will be the Main Monster but the role goes to Tyrone and Marco is cast as the narrator. The two boys and Marco's little sister, Ritzi, are engaging characters set in a sometimes unpleasant inner-city reality. They face a variety of unsavory people, including street thugs, Crazy Wee-wee (a local homeless person), and a substitute teacher who accuses Ritzi of killing the class gerbil. Throughout the traumas, the play progresses. The performance is a definite hit, complete with the appearance of Tyrone's mother, who never comes to school. Marco's extrasensory powers have a very minor role in this novel, though they are referred to for fans of the first book. This quick, easy read is full of humor and angst, and features a strong single-parent family, a theater experience, and lots of adventure.?Jody McCoy, Lakehill Preparatory School, Dallas, TX
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3^-5. The narrator of this quirky little novel, first introduced in The Secret Super Powers of Marco, begins this episode by informing readers, "I need my powers less now because I have a best friend and my little dog Lucy." But Marco faces a string of bad luck after his best friend is picked to play Main Monster in the class play, a role that Marco was hoping to win. An unusual fourth-grader, Marco is a likable protagonist, and a strong cast of secondary characters--ranging from an evil substitute teacher to Marco's sharp-tongued classmate Lateesha--provides plenty of humor and excitement. Although Marco does have an occasional premonition, the fantasy aspect takes a backseat to the everyday struggles of normal fourth-graders, and Marco finds that life is still tough, even with a best friend and a dog. Lauren Peterson