Marty is a tomboy forced to portray the princess in the school play. By combining her ingenuity and her love of nature, she saves the production, makes her parents proud, and gets her best friend back. This elementary-school story, with spirited black-and-white illustrations, is highly readable, with engaging characters and accessible language. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Marty's best friend, who used to climb trees and catch crayfish with her, now prefers to take dance lessons and play princesses with another classmate. When their third-grade teacher unexpectedly taps Marty to play the princess in the class production of The Frog Prince, she takes on the role reluctantly, feeling more affinity with frogs than with princesses. Marty adds an element of surprise on opening night, earning wild applause, a parental warning, and friends, old and new. Messner brings Marty's personality and concerns to life in a first-person narrative that, among other things, records the difference between what she thinks and what she says. I'd call Veronica Grace Princess Bossy-Pants if I were allowed to call people names. But I'm not. So I won't. The many illustrations capture the characters' emotions with wit and style. A promising start to the chapter-book series about Marty McGuire, a confident child with a kind heart for animals.--Phelan, Caroly. Copyright 2010 Booklist

Gr 1-3-Marty McGuire is a spunky third grader who prefers catching crayfish to dressing up in tiaras in this early chapter book (Scholastic, 2011) by Kate Messner and Brian Flocca. This causes a rift between her and the other girls but endears her to the boys who like to play near the pond. It also causes a problem when Marty is chosen to play the princess in the class play. But her spirit, imagination, and knack for improv prove that she's the perfect choice for the part. Light music introduces the beginning of the story and alerts listeners to the conclusion. The only additional sound effect is the occasional use of the teacher's classroom-taming maracas. Cassandra Morris's narration matches the sparkle of Marty's character. She seamlessly gives each character a unique voice, and her quick pace complements the tone of the story and keeps listeners rapt until the end. Fans of Clementine and Ramona are sure to be won over by Marty McGuire.-April Mazza, Wayland Public Library, MA (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

When the promised land of third grade does not pan as promised, Marty McGuire finds herself playing a completely new role.Mrs. Aloi, her maracas-shaking teacher, is putting together the parts for the class play of The Frog Prince, and she decides that Marty is perfect for the part of the princess. Marty, who prefers learning about frog anatomy to kissing or, worse, throwing a frog, is horrified. She gets little support from her scientist mother or her teacher fathera princess she shall be! On top of this bad news, Marty's best friend has joined the girly-girl group and does not seem interested in playing outside and pretending to be Jane Goodall anymore. Messner gets all the details of third grade right: the social chasm between the girls who want to be like the older kids and the ones who are still little girls, the Mad Minutes for memorizing arithmetic facts, the silly classroom-control devices teachers use and the energy students of this age put into projects like class plays. Floca's black-and-white sketches are filled with movement and emotion and are frequent enough to help new chapter-book readers keep up with this longer text.Believable and endearing characters in a realistic elementary-school setting will be just the thing for fans of Clementine and Ramona. (Fiction. 7-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.