Jennifer Murdley's Toad

Magic Shop #3

by Bruce Coville

Jennifer Murdley had no idea what she was getting into the day she bought the big toad from the strange man who ran Elives' Magic Shop. The thing didn't even start talking to her until she had it out of the shop.

And once the toad did start to talk, it still kept a lot of secrets. So Jennifer didn't find out about his strange birth... or the treasure hidden in his forehead... or the witch who was out to get him... until she and her friends were in more trouble than they had ever dreamed of!

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Magic, Science Fiction Fantasy

176 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1992

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s exceptionally difficult to weave a tale that illustrates that it’s inner beauty — not outer — that’s important, but Bruce Coville rises to the challenge.

In this third book in his Magic Shop series, Jennifer Murdley — plain-faced, beady-eyed, heavy-set — laments her looks and the bullying she receives at the hands of pretty, blonde Sharra Moncrief. Could magic be the answer?

Jennifer Murdley’s Toad boasts several twists — and the promise of sequels! In addition, without lecturing nor a sugarcoated ending, Coville masterly weaves a story that’s as amusing and enlightening for adults as for children. Congratulations, Bruce, for a fabulous read for all ages!

[Qt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this Magic Shop Book as much as I liked "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher." The characters and plot are completely different (save for one or two minor recurring characters), but the humor and heart is the same. ("Jeremy" is perhaps a bit more "magical," in my opinion, while "Jennifer" has more of a modern fairy-tale feel.)
The backstory of the title toad is quite interesting, especially to fans of fairy tales, and the theme of self-image and outside appearances is also touching and well done--a serious issue handled in a fantastical and engaging way. The climax is exciting and of course, the humor is funny as always :-)

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jennifer wishes she could be beautiful, but feels ugly and dumpy. When she buys a talking toad at the Magic Shop, her entire life changes, and she is whisked on an adventure where she will have to choose between pursuing beauty or saving her friends.

I loved this hilarious story, and read it all in one sitting! The madcap plot is full of surprises, and the snappy dialogue makes every page interesting. I enjoyed the magic system and how it interacts in strange ways with the modern world.

I thought Jennifer was sweet and REAL and beautifully awkward. Her family is quirky and weird, and her friends are peppery and unreliable. The best part of the book was Jennifer's various relationships with her parents, siblings, and school friends, and of course, her magical talking toad.

I adored every chapter! Can't wait to read more from this series.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great series for my students! I read aloud The Monster's Ring to them and they loved it so much that I decided to also read aloud this one. Without even prompting them, they are busy comparing and contrasting Jennifer Murdley's Toad to A Monster's Ring. Once we are finished, I think I'm going to have them create their own version of a Magic Shop Book. I'm hoping that a number of them will read more Magic Shop books over the summer independently or with their parents.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I vaguely remembered this one from when I read it in about 2nd or 3rd grade. I thought this one was cute and has more of a story than Jeremy Thatcher did. I liked how Coville brought in the old fairy tale (Diamonds and Toads I think is it's name?), it was a fun addition. This one obviously is talking about the nature of Beauty. What a thing to tackle.

I liked what Coville says in the afterword:
"We all know that beauty is only skin-deep, you should never judge a book by its cover, etc., etc. Now I will make an embarrassing confession: Even though I know those things, I spend a ridiculous amount of time in front of my mirror, studying my looks, trying to figure out if they are good enough. I know this is foolish, but that doesn't stop me. And I am not alone; the culture we live in is obsessed with beauty over brains, skin over soul, heartthrobs over great hearts. I don't have any answers for how we can get past that nonsense, but I thought the issue was at least worth looking at."

Thank you for looking Mr. Coville, and for your input.

[Amy Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book aloud to my class of third graders. Cute book and they loved all the silliness! They are inspired to try other Magic Shop books on their own, and that is awesome!

[Allison]

Someone on Instagram mentioned reading a Bruce Coville book to their kid and it made me remember this book I weirdly loved when I was like nine years old.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly ridiculous story of toads, and magic and a girl who wishes to be beautiful. I learned one very useful bit of information from this book – if you kiss a toad it doesn’t turn into a handsome prince. In fact, it has a much less desirable outcome, so no matter how cute you might think the toad is, I really don’t recommend kissing it. Just sayin’…

[Pamela Zeiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

We listened to the full cast audio book, and my 5 year old loved the story.

[B Bender · Rating 5 out of 5]

caroline lent it to me :) im sure this book is kept in the hearts of any kid who had the joy of reading it

[Malbadeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts with a great first line (and I'm not just saying that because I've had to wear my brothers underwear before) and every chapter is a great anticipatory set for the next - the stuff of great Read Alouds. I was surprised by how quickly Coville moved from the amusing first line, to some heavy truths, and back to the grabber chapter ending. My kids and I were fortunate enough to have a librarian in the car with us for 6 + hours and everytime she stopped reading my son demanded that she "READ" more.
and now a letter to Mr. Coville (from the perspective of an 9 year old girl):
Mr. Coville,
I thought your book was so great. Everytime the Toad thumped in the box I laughed, I felt kinda bad that Jennifer wasn't pretty but I'm glad she didn't get super good looking at the end cuz that doesn't really happen in real life (just most books) also I liked the words you used. Sometime when I was hearing your story I felt like when I go to my grandmas and I get a good feeling right when I walk in the door but I'm not exactly sure why. I'm thinking later when I'm older I'm gonna realize it was your use of generous but not tiresome alliteration. I bet it helped me fall in love with words a little more and will make want to read more and more so that I can get that great feeling again. I loved it when you said "born of this babes blabbering" and when you said "3 witches..." and then followed it with 3 sentences about them. I like it cuz 3 is my favorite number and also cuz it was kinda like numerical alliteraction.
from me
p.s. I loved that Elives directions ended with a p.s., p.s. is one of my favorite things!

[Amirsaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

یا چگونه جنیفرِ نوجوان یاد گرفت از ظاهرش شرمنده نباشد.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was an assistant on this book. It is one of Bruce's best novels, a book as funny as it is harrowing and heartbreaking. For some, Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher is their favorite Magic Shop Book, but for me it is tied between Jennifer Murdley's Toad and The Skull of Truth, serious books that are seriously hilarious.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poignant read, especially for today’s girls who are bombarded by the media with impossible standards of beauty. Although Jennifer is sincere, intelligent and loyal she suffers from a poor self image. Children will enjoy the fantasy elements of the story as a “magic shop” book and hopefully take the message to heart.

[Lanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda Fun. But nowhere near as good as "Jeremy thatcher, dragon hatcher" I hated the parents to. I don't cRe how "ugly" you think you kid is. Don't say it! Especially where they might overhear you. :( shitty parents 101. I might recommend it if you liked the other books.

[Zinger · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an ok book for a beginning reader who is stuck somewhere without anything else to read. But if you have something else to read or do, I would recommend doing that.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and magical.

[Shannon Rohrer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another nostalgic read for me: one of those, "I read this multiple times years ago, and needed to revisit it" cases.

I'm glad I did. For one, the premise behind the story--a magic shop that moves around, a talking toad bearing powers unbeknownst to even him--is fascinating. But more than anything, there was a deeper message in this story.

Meet Jennifer Murdley: an average fifth-grader--"the kid in the plain brown wrapper". Told by people she knows and society in general that she's "ugly", poor Jennifer just can't seem to catch a break. What starts out as a day where she's forced to wear a pair of her brother's underwear--a fact that causes her no end of grief, once it gets around at school--turns into a magical, yet troublesome adventure when she happens upon the magic shop.

Enter Bufo, the talking toad Jennifer buys from said shop: witty, intelligent, and a voice-talent to boot, things go from difficult to downright impossible when Jennifer takes Bufo home. From getting her in trouble at school, to passing around a toad-transformation epidemic with a kiss, this sharp-witted amphibian causes no end of grief for the story's heroine. And yet, he's a source of entertainment too, and surprisingly enough, comfort.

I won't go too in-depth, here. I will say it's definitely one of the better middle-grade books I read growing up, and an excellent re-read, years later, bearing a message that's as true now as it was then; that the beauty within is the only beauty that really matters--a message everyone can benefit from.

[Keeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery to the fourth-grade class as a long read for many years and have been looking for a replacement since some proportion of the kids come in already having read Bunnicula. This book won Vermont's middle grade novel student choice book award the year after it was published and seemed to promise a good mix of fantasy and humor.
Humor it certainly has, and it definitely appealed to the students in that way. There was a lot of "ew" at the kissing of toads that invariably occurred. The plot was complex and an attentive listener could figure out some of the twists, which is rewarding. However, there was a lot of fixation on how ugly Jennifer is and how that impacts her self-esteem. This is reinforced by classic 80s style bullying from classmates and her big brother. It feels pretty over-the-top and dated.
It was interesting to discover that this was originally one in a series of books; I wonder what those were like!

[The Captain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahoy there mateys! I wanted short books with magic and I enjoyed this author's alien book so I tried these.  Basically every book has a young kid ending up in Mr. Elives' magic shop and taking home an artifact that brings an adventure.  The first book deals with a ring that turns Russell into a monster, the second with Jeremy having to raise a dragon's egg, the third with Jennifer and a talking toad, the fourth with Charlie getting a talking skull, and the fifth with Juliet getting a magic locket.  I liked the first two, loved three and four, and didn't really like five at all.  The toad book had excellent magic dealing with kissing in a silly way.  And the skull book had some seriously funny things dealing with Shakespeare that kids might not get but I sure did.  These are short and fun and I really think middle school kids would love these. Arrrr!

[PyranopterinMo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A children's book from an author that came up on my feed and turned out to be spectacularly funny. like other good children's books it turned out to be a useful teaching aid for intermediate English students with excellent vocabulary.
So .. an unattractive fifth grader starts her school day with a rather unfortunate but hillarious event partly her dad's fault but not entirely. This triggers a lot of teasing and threats from her brother and the
popular leader of a group of girls. She ends up running away, finding a magic shop accidentally on purpose, and leaving with a magic toad that was priced 99.25% off for use for a school essay on pets.
Somehow the situation changes completely, and with the help of her friends, brother, the pretty girl who led the chase, the magic toad, and others, some magic problems are fixed. There are a lot of kisses involving toads and kisses right on the lips and a couple people end up with, yuck, flies in their stomachs. Endlessly funny and without the nastiness of bullies as the focus of the story past the first chapter.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know this book is part of a series, but I read this as a stand-alone & really enjoyed myself.

Jennifer is a bit of a schlemiel, and I was so impressed to see her take charge and responsibility so bravely by the end of this book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and Coville's note at the end of the book about beauty/not having beauty, and how that can affect a person. *I might add a bit of a trigger warning here* that Jennifer's story is a tough read at times if you ever felt ugly as a child/young adult. Of course the beautiful witch was absolutely horrible and ugly in reality/on the inside/at the end, but more importantly, Jennifer was brave, and loyal, and kind, and hopeful, and good... Which is all so much more important than beauty/the perception of beauty.

[erforscherin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revisiting this book for the first time in decades, and I was amazed to see how much of it I remembered - and how clearly! Coville does such a good job capturing what it feels like to be a kid who falls on the wrong side of beautiful in the US: the subtle (and not so subtle) peer bullying, the heavy knowledge (at such a young age) of everything you can’t do and be, the endless longing to magically be beautiful and fit in… It’s a perfect setup for a fantasy story, really, and it is perfectly executed here.

I also want to take a moment to appreciate that the story doesn’t take the easy way out. There is no magic beauty makeover moment; Jennifer remains herself throughout, and must find her own way to happiness. To me it is the perfect ending, although I wonder a little if it were written today, whether the publishers would demand to change it…

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this book for a book report when I was in elementary school. I loved it then but I couldn't remember why. Now I do. It's a great, fun story with a message about inner and outer beauty that comes across without being too preachy. I think my only problem with the story was the cover of the book from the edition that I read way back when. The whole point of the story is that the main character is ugly. Her family is as kind to her about it as they can be, but even still, they think she's ugly too. But on the cover is a pretty blonde child. I think the publisher should have read the book more closely before going along with that cover!

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say I didn’t expect the ending of this book. I read it in two sittings because I couldn’t put it down. Jennifer Murdley is not at all pretty. On the outside. However the question is whether she is pretty on the inside, ie a good moral person. Read the book and find out. Bufo is quite a character. We also get more of a sense about Mr. Elives. He still is a mystery but he is not an independent agent but one working for a mysterious boss. I hope we find more out about him as well. Definitely highly recommended. Loses the fifth star because I don’t feel any urge to reread it immediately.

[Lisa Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jennifer Murdley doesn't fit in, partly because she is plain, but mostly because she doubts herself and lacks confidence, but when she buys a toad from a magical shop in town, her life is instantly turned upside-down. The toad can not only speak, but seems to be magic, and unfortunately for Jennifer, not only does he accidentally turn someone else into a toad, but there is a witch who is trying to capture him - and all the while, she still has to survive the daily life of school and bullying girls.

A fun, creative little book that is great for middle grades especially. I enjoyed it, and I think my kids would as well.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lot of fun for the target age group and I enjoy it a lot as an adult as well. I read it with my daughter (8) and she liked it too. I am a little irked by this particular cover, though, as one of the significant points of the book is that the titular protagonist is not a particularly good-looking child and she wishes she were beautiful, and she eventually comes to terms with the fact that she is not going to magically be beautiful, but that she has other positive qualities. Having this ethereally lovely youngster on the front sends the wrong message imo. My daughter and I had a long talk about it.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, another winner! Coville keeps impressing me with his excellent children's writing that includes discussion about complicated issues that effect children. This fun little adventure about a magic frog and a witch, also dealt with topics mercy, responsibility, temptation, and beauty. I loved the ending. The author taught that beauty is not more important than being a good person, while still allowing for the desire to be beautiful and for beauty to exist together with morality. I thought it was really well handled.

[Taryn Hilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

🥹 Nostalgia Read #2 🥹

I still don’t know anyone else in real life who has read this book (maaaaaybe my sister? lol), but this was one of my top three growing up. I can’t even count the number of times I read it.

I’ve always loved the message (beauty is only skin deep, it’s what’s inside that matters, etc.), and it absolutely still resonates with me. Getting older is tough, and what I see when I look in the mirror is changing, but as Mr. Elives said, “Most mirrors are mere errors.” Definitely something I need to keep at the front of my mind ♥️

[Melanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this quite as much as I liked Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, but this does have more of a fairy-tale-ish feel to it while the other has more of a straight fantasy feel.

I'm glad he didn't go with the typical "Fairy tale" ending of Jennifer turning pretty at the end. That would have ruined it, I think. It works a lot better with her just gaining self-confidence.