When Arthur returns to school this fall, only one thing's for certain. His name will be at the top of the roll.
It always is.
He's an Aardvark.Arthur's the shy but smart brainchild of Marc Brown, a Massachusetts writer. And Brown has gone out of his way to make his creation "everykid." The books always treat topics that American kids tend to have in common. Arthur gets glasses in one adventure, goes to camp in another, visits the dentist, battles a bully. His life is similar to the domestic life found in Maurice Sendak's alphabet book, "Alligators All Around:" Animals having headaches, wearing wigs, acting like Indians, making macaroni. For Arthur, a good day is a day without more than three hassles.
And that "common-kid" quality is making him the most popular fictional kid on the block. There are more than a dozen Arthur books out now, "Arthur's April Fool," "Arthur's Baby," "Arthur's Nose." An Arthur doll is soon to be released and you can start watching for him on television.
All of the books make for fun back-to-school reading, but in "Arthur's Teacher Trouble" Brown sculpts a tale for children who are a bit intimidated by bells and books, teachers and tests.
Once again, the writing style is flat and direct, with just enough jargon and humor tossed in to keep things from feeling wooden.
Here's a look at the first two pages:
The bell rang.
The first day of school was over.
Kids ran out every classroom - every one but Room 13.
Here, the students filed out slowly, in alphabetical order.
"See you tomorrow," said their teacher, Mr. Ratburn.
"I can't believe he gave us homework the first day," said Arthur.
"I had the Rat last year," said Prunella. "Boy, do I feel sorry for you!"
There are more folk tales and horror stories about Mr. Ratburn floating around Arthur's school than paper airplanes. "I got the strictist teacher in the whole world," Arthur tells him mother. And he does. But, as expected, the coin has two sides and when Arthur walks off with the Spellathon title, he learns a little bit more about both Mr. Ratburn, himself and the way the world works.
In the end, in this era when childhood heroes tend to solve problems by swashbuckling in and settling things up with their own two hands (think of Batman, the Transformers, the Ninja Turtles, G.I. Joe), it's refreshing to watch Arthur use common sense and humor to defuse tense situations and solve adolescent dilemmas. In Marc Brown's books, the pen is still mightier than the sword.
Four stars for Arthur.
And four stars for Marc Brown.