Perfectly Martha (Martha Speaks) - Hardcover

Susan Meddaugh was born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey. She graduated from Wheaton College, where she studied French literature and fine arts. After working briefly with an advertising agency in New York, she moved to Boston and worked at a publishing company for ten years, first as a designer, then art editor, and finally as art director. While there, she did the illustrations for GOOD STONES (Houghton Mifflin) by Anne Epstein, and then decided to strike out on her own as a freelance illustrator and creator of children's books. Since that time, Susan has written and illustrated many popular books for children, including MARTHA SPEAKS, which was chosen as a NEW YORK TIMES Best Illustrated Book for 1992. In 1998 she was awarded the New England Book Award, given by the New England Booksellers Association to recognize a body of work. Her work also was acknowledged with a New York Times Best Illustrated Award. She lives in Sherborn, Massachusetts.

PreS-Gr. 2. In her sixth adventure, Martha the talking dog becomes a crime stopper when she exposes a pair of scam artists. Martha is disturbed by the newly opened Perfect Pup Institute, which advertises "a perfect dog in one day." After one class, run by oily partners Otis Weaselgraft and Dr. Pablum, dogs become robotically obedient; they even stop chasing squirrels. Determined to uncover Weaselgraft's secret, Martha enters the institute, but Dr. Pablum overhears her speaking and dognaps her for study. While incarcerated, Martha learns the crooks' trick (the RoboRover Brain Stopper, a collar device that freezes all but the obedience lobe of a dog's brain) and manages to humiliate Weaselgraft as she reveals his plot to the public. The story's pace meanders a bit. But as in Martha's other stories, Meddaugh's expressive, energetic cartoon drawings and clever text asides make a winning combination. Many children will recognize Martha's frustration with the adults who try to tame the spirit out of their young canines. Who needs obedience school? Martha wonders. "Dogs are already perfect." Gillian Engberg
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