***The Legend of Spud Murphy
by Eoin Colfer
illustrated by Glenn McCoy
Reviewed January 10, 2005.
Miramax Books (Hyperion), New York, 2004. 95 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (JF COL).
Here’s a beginning chapter book with plenty of humor by the author
of
Artemis Fowl.
Will and his older brother have been sentenced to spend three afternoons
a week at, horror of horrors, the library. This isn’t just any ordinary
library. This library is the realm of the legendary librarian Spud
Murphy. People say she has a Spud Gun and shoots spuds at any kid
who dares to make a sound. Will’s three little brothers got out of
it by doing their angel stunt of batting their blue eyes and letting their
bottom lips wobble a bit.
At the library, Marty and Will are told to stay on the carpet in the
children’s section. Marty thinks he can outwit Spud Murphy, but
he underestimates the dread librarian. After he moves books to the
wrong spots on the shelves, his punishment was so funny, I had to read
it out loud to my sons. Of course, eventually they find that a library
does have some compensations.
This is a fun book that’s short (five chapters) and has lots of pictures.
It’s not intimidating, but it tells a good story, so it’s perfect for
a kid wanting to read a whole book on his own. At the same time,
my fifth grader, who’s not daunted by
Harry Potter, can also read
it and get a good laugh.
Reviews of other books by Eoin Colfer:
The Legend of the Worst Boy in the World
Imaginary Fred
Artemis Fowl
Copyright © 2005 Sondra Eklund.
All rights
reserved.
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Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund