Martin Bridge: Sound the Alarm!

Martin Bridge #4

by Jessica Scott Kerrin

Martin Bridge and his friend Stuart find a full-scale model of their space hero's rocket in the toy store and just have to climb in for a ride. But after landing back on Earth, they find the toy store closed and locked -- with no way out! Then Martin sees something in a display window that turns his knees to jelly. What will he do when he's trapped with his greatest fear? Join Martin Bridge as he faces his fear, puts a Park Ranger Super-Charged All-Night Flashlight to good use, gets a new babysitter and discovers that knowing a few dance moves pays off in more ways than one!

Genres: Childrens

112 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2007

Reviews

[Amieer Ayyad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is about this kid named Martin and he was supposed to go to a friends birthday party and he just kept being mean to his friend.I like the book because it's best book I ever read.I think I recommend this to my mom because she said to me she likes this book.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Martin begins to feel a bit self-conscious about his love for Zip, an action hero. When his new babysitter seems like a total dud at first, Martin dismisses her; however, he soon learns she likes to dance and she likes Zip. The babysitter “tricks” Martin into learning how to dance, and to his surprise, he is pretty good at it. The bulk of the story, though, is focused on Martin and Alex’s situation in the department store. While they were there visiting Alex’s mother, they got distracted by a Zip rocket. The store closed with them in it and panic quickly set in. However, Martin had the idea to flash a flashlight outside the window with an SOS signal. Martin had to overcome his fear of mannequins and Alex had to (sort of) overcome his fear of clowns. Ultimately, they were rescued, and Martin’s reverence for Zip validated. Throughout the story are sketches that reinforce the textual ideas. The sketches are cartoonish in nature. Kerrin’s prose lacks somewhat in figurative language and detail, but is sophisticated enough to recommend this book to elementary readers.[return][return][return][return]When I do recommend the Martin Bridge series, the children invariably adore them. While Kerrin's stories are more popular with male students, due to the male protagonists, I have slowly been trying to steer female students into this direction.

[babyhippoface · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are really terrific little books for young readers just diving into the world of chapter books.

In the first of two stories, Martin endures teasing from an older boy about his affection for cartoon space hero Zip Rideout until an unexpected source offers surprising relief. In the second story, Martin and his friend Stuart are locked inside a department store after hours and Martin must overcome a petrifying fear to signal for help.

The thing I like about these books is... well, everything. Martin is a real kid who might walk into my school library on any given day. Martin is a good kid with real emotions, thoughts, and fears. Kids can really empathize with Stuart, Martin, and even Martin's mother, as they all deal with fears--clowns, mannequins, and spiders, respectively. His parents are reasonable, patient, and loving, not mawkish or stereotypically "stupid adults." Joseph Kelly's charcoal illustrations are perfectly matched to Martin and his friends. Just cartoon-y enough to get kids' attention.

Give a Martin Bridge book to a third grade boy who is reluctant to away from shorter chapter books. I think he'll like what he reads.

[Ms. B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two stories in the one. In the first, Martin deals with new babysitter, Darla, who wants to practice dance movess. In the second, Martin and his friend Stuart are trapped in a toy store.
For anyone looking for a chapter book that's short and/or funny.