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Summary
Summary
Sid Fleischman Humor Award Winner!
Fans of Jeff Kinney's humor and Sharon Creech's heartfelt stories will love this hilarious new series about a ten-year-old boy from a big family who dreams of making it into The Guinness Book of World Records.
Teddy Mars is determined to stand out in a world full of wonders and a house bursting with siblings. With the help of his best friends, Teddy tries to build the biggest snow mound, stuff the most grapes in his mouth, and lift a chair with his teeth. He'll do anything to succeed--even if it means sleeping in a tent and cleaning up pigeon poop for Grumpy Pigeon Man. Too bad his pesky little brother, also known as The Destructor, always wrecks Teddy's record-breaking plans!
Told in short, accessible sections, with memorable lists and winning illustrations, Molly B. Burnham's Teddy Mars #1: Almost a World Record Breaker is perfect for reading aloud. Teddy's never-give-up attitude will have readers laughing out loud and clamoring to break records of their own!
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-Though Burnham breaks no new ground here, this is nevertheless an appealing tale with an engaging narrator. Ten-year-old Teddy Mars, the sixth of seven children, wants to stand out from his siblings and do something meaningful. Unfortunately, in addition to having five older sisters (a singer, twins, a sports addict, and a bully), he is plagued by an energetic younger brother whom he rightly calls, The Destructor. Little brother Jake adores Teddy but expresses his feelings by ruining most of his older sibling's prized possessions. Teddy's solution is to move out of their shared bedroom and into a tent in the backyard. He also finds respite in reading "Guinness World Records" books and in helping an old neighbor with his homing pigeons. Those two pastimes come together as Teddy attempts to set his own world record. His actual accomplishment won't come as a surprise to astute readers, but Teddy is so amiable and put-upon, he'll find plenty of fans who'll want to read more in the promised series. The book's format, with monthly chapters divided into smaller subchapters, makes this a good choice for reading logs, and the report Teddy has to do on pigeons makes this book an ideal pairing with a nonfiction title on these urban birds.-Marie Drucker, Malverne Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Fourth-grader Teddy Mars shares moments from his hopeful but often disappointing life in Burnham's highly entertaining debut. Much of Teddy's life revolves around four elements: his four-year-old brother, Jake ("The Destructor"), who is constantly ruining things for him; his quest to hold a world record (in anything); his admiration for pigeons; and his obsession with Star Wars. When Teddy's birthday doesn't turn out quite as expected, he decides to ditch his six siblings, each with quirks he can live without, and move into a backyard tent. An older neighbor, dubbed "Grumpy Pigeon Man," suddenly takes an interest in Teddy and offers him a job caring for the pigeons he keeps. A heartwarming friendship blossoms between the two unlikely companions as Teddy learns that wisdom and affection are not ruled by age. Delightfully rambunctious b&w sketches (not all seen by PW) elevate the comedy, while Teddy's hard-nosed perseverance (attempting the largest leaf pile, stretching the most rubber bands over his face, etc.), with the aid of friends new and old, takes world record-making to hilarious new heights. Ages 8-12. Author's agent: Tina Wexler, ICM. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Ten-year-old Teddy Mars is obsessed with breaking a world record and standing out in his large and boisterous family. After getting a job tending a neighbor's homing pigeons, Teddy's world record might be within reach...if Teddy can avoid his hero-worshiping little brother. Believable family relationships, plenty of humor and heart, and emotive black-and-white spot art elevate the familiar plot. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
After discovering The Guinness Book of World Records, Teddy's determined to achieve a world record, too.How can a 10-year-old manage it? He's constrained by his six remarkable siblings, all marching to the beats of their own drummers, a device debut author Burnham uses to make each of them readily distinguishable. The most difficult, from Teddy's viewpoint, is 4-year-old Jake, aka "The Destructor," who shares Teddy's bedroom, enjoys napping in a (clean) cat box and often unintentionally destroys Teddy's belongings. Teddy gets a tent for his birthday, then pitches it in the backyard and moves out. That provides the opportunity to learn more about the 57 pigeons owned by his grumpy, elderly next-door neighbor, who hires him to care for the birds. The pigeons could be his key to a world record, if, with lots of peanut-buttered birdseed and helpful friends, they'll all land on him at once. As revealed in his engaging, age-appropriate, first-person narration, things rarely work out as planned. Although they provide ample drama, Teddy's large family isunexpectedlyengaged in his pratfall-riddled pursuit. Bizarre actual world records are neatly incorporated into the narrative. Ample white space, large print and Spencer's drolly entertaining illustrations inflate the page count somewhat for the younger middle-grade audience. Fans of world-record quests and those who enjoy lighthearted tales will savor Teddy's efforts. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Ten-year-old Teddy Mars is obsessed with The Guinness Book of World Records. He is determined to accomplish some feat that will earn him a spot in the illustrious book's pages. But with five older sisters and one very destructive younger brother, Teddy struggles with getting privacy and recognition. With the help of his best friends, he builds snow mounds, pushes an orange across the floor with his nose, wraps rubber bands around his face, and even acts as a human birdfeeder for his grumpy neighbor's pigeons. Yet all his plots are foiled by his troublesome brother, whom Teddy has dubbed The Destructor. When Teddy's prized book is vandalized, it drives him out of the house and into a tent in the backyard, and even then he isn't safe. This heartwarming story starts the Teddy Mars series on a hilarious foot, tracing one boy's struggle to stand out in a big family, one failed record-breaking attempt after another. Once the wreckage is cleared, what's left is a loving family that celebrates one another for exactly who they are.--Pera, Mariam Copyright 2015 Booklist