Marty Pants: Keep Your Paws Off ~ Mark Parisi review [@@OffTheMarkComic @HarperChildrens]

Marty Pants #2: Keep Your Paws Off
HarperCollins
February 06, 2018
256 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

Marty Pants is back! And in an unexpectedly hairy situation, Marty must put his deduction skills to the test as this new mystery might be leading to monstrous consequences.

When Marty finds a ripped page from his sister's diary, the most crucial piece—revealing Marty's true identity—is still locked inside his sister’s room. Undaunted, Marty pieces the clues together and comes to the most logical conclusion: he's on a one-way trip to werewolfville!

Superhuman speed. Howling. Hairiness. The evidence is mounting against him, and with his werewolf powers growing stronger, Marty is determined to protect his classmates from himself before it's too late—no matter what the cost!

The second book in the Marty Pants series from the award-winning cartoonist behind the “Off the Mark” strip, Mark Parisi, is perfect for fans of Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, and laughing a lot.

Marty Pants returns for another strange, funny, crazy installment of Mark Parisi's Marty Pants series. This time the young aspiring artist has discovered something truly frightening about himself: he is a werewolf.

It seems unbelievable, but seems to make perfect sense, too. Just to be sure Marty decides to watch for the signs: ripped clothing, howling, etc. He needs to keep people safe from his monstrous, true self, after all.

This possible, life altering secret doesn't stop life around him from continuing on. There's still his nemesis Simon to deal with, therapy sessions with Parker, Roongrat's never-ending (but often incorrect) supply of facts and anecdotes, and Marty's sister's current way of spelling her name.

Marty Pants: Keep Your Paws Off is funny and maybe a bit absurd but also lets readers get to know the characters better and develops their relationships. (Marty also supplies a bit of information on different artists - and our Founding Fathers - along the way.) This book a is a light, fun read with enough in its characters and their friendships to make readers want to come back for the next book.

How Marty decides things to be true (what makes him think he's one step closer to confirming his lycanthropic identity) was fantastic. It's that perfect blend of odd and logical that is definitely funny, but somehow still understandable.

The Marty Pants series is targeted at readers eight to twelve-years-old but but older readers will still find the humor and it seems appropriate for any younger readers. Book 3, Marty Pants: How to Defeat a Wizard will be out in November and sounds like it will, again, showcase the . . . interesting conclusions Marty reaches.







finished copy received from publisher for review consideration

Marty Pants: Do Not Open ~ Mark Parisi review [@HarperChildrens @OffTheMarkComic ]

Marty Pants: Do Not Open (Marty Pants #1)
Harper Collins
May 02, 2017
256 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

“Funny and engaging. Marty Pants is a surefire hit!”—Lincoln Peirce, author of the Big Nate series

Move over, Wimpy Kid. Here comes the imaginative, the inquisitive, the unstoppable Marty Pants! Meet Marty in the side-splitting first book of a new series written by Mark Parisi, the award-winning cartoonist of the Off the Mark comic.

Marty Pants is different from your typical middle schooler. He has the soul of an artist, and as an artist, he notices things—the kinds of things other kids don’t seem to see.
So when Marty discovers a plot on his teacher’s computer to take over the world, Marty knows this is a danger he can’t just ignore. But no one, not his best friends Parker and Roongrat or his mother, father, sister, arch-enemy, Simon, or Chief of Police Pickels, believes him.

So, it’s up to Marty to save the world—his way.

This hilarious new series follows the endearing, frazzled, embarrassed, and, ultimately, fearless footsteps of literature’s most unlikely hero—Marty Pants.

You know what? I like Marty Pants. He is funny, he is imaginative, he is, honestly, a bit weird, but endearing, too.

Marty is an artist - it's why he wears black - but his teacher doesn't seem to understand his creative expression. Or, at least, he doesn't seem to grade it very well. It all makes a bit more sense, though, when Marty discovers who his teacher really is.

Now, to save the world . . .

Marty Pants: Do Not Open is a fun read whether you normally read MG books or not. It may not be full of life lessons or deep literature but it has a memorable characters, it is creative and original and a truly enjoyable read. Marty's relationship with his family is great (in that it's not always all that great). The dynamic between his parents, his father's love of old music, his hostile cat, Marty's sister - however she spells her name right now - and how they were all very real but also very humorous was fantastic.

The conclusions Marty comes to and the actions he decides to take because of them will be entertaining and, often, comical for both MG age readers and those older.

The illustrations add to the story, giving readers a visual for some of the crazier situations Marty finds himself in or to some of his more specific descriptions. They are a fun addition to the story and well placed.

I am definitely curious to see what Marty will get up to in the second book - and why he'll have done it.




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finished copy received from publisher for review consideration