Martin Bridge: On the Lookout!

Liz Dennett is a public service librarian in the Science and Technology
Library at the University of Alberta.

Martin Bridge is a likeable boy who has a strong artistic talent; a love
for television hero Zip Rideout, space cadet; and two best friends,
Stuart and Alex.

In On the Lookout!, Martin is angry when Laila shows up at his door a
day late for his birthday and interferes with his plan to play Park
Rangers with Alex and Stuart. Then Martin forgets his permission slip
for the class trip to the museum and must spend the day with the grade
below. In the final story, Martin, Alex, and Stuart must search for
Polly, the spelling parakeet, when they accidentally let her fly out the
class window.

In Ready for Takeoff!, Martin plans a special tribute for his fabulous
substitute bus driver, but the usual bus driver, cranky old Mrs. Phips,
becomes the unintended recipient. Then he is faced with an ethical
dilemma when his neighbour Ginny’s hamster dies and her parents choose
to replace the animal rather than tell Ginny. Finally, the youngster
suggests a great idea for painting a model rocket to his best friend
Alex, only to feel jealous when Alex is universally admired for
executing it.

In each story, Martin makes an important discovery about people, the
truth, and the value of friendship. All this “learning” does weigh
the book down a little, and it would be nice to see Martin having just a
little more fun. That said, the characters are well developed, the
dilemmas are interesting, and Martin will be easy for young readers to
relate to.

The characters in these stories have a complexity to them that is
refreshing in a beginner chapter book. For example, Clark, a boy who was
kept behind a grade for missing too much school, eats erasers, makes
elaborate structures out of tape, does well in geography, and shows a
great deal of maturity in being kind to Martin after Martin is
insensitive toward him. Martin learns that people you do not like can
pleasantly surprise you; that being unhappy does not permit you to be
unfair to others; and that being overly impulsive can land you a
French-speaking parakeet!

Joseph Kelly’s admirable graphite and charcoal drawings nicely
illustrate the stories and will help guide less-confident readers
through them. Both books are recommended.