Marvin and the Moths

by Matthew Holm, Jonathan Follett Narrated by Ramon de Ocampo

Overview

Matthew Holm, the Eisner Award-winning co-creator of Babymouse, teams with his childhood best friend Jonathan Follett for a hilarious prose debut.

Middle school is off to a rocky start for Marvin Watson. Doomed to misfit status, his only friends are a girl with major orthodontics, the smelliest boy in school, and the trio of sarcastic man-sized moths that live in his attic.No one said middle school would be easy! Also, no one said that Marvin's town would be threatened by mutant bugs, including a very hungry, Shakespeare-quoting spider. But life in the suburbs is full of surprises. Will Marvin be the one to unravel the mystery behind the mutants and save the town? Or will he be too busy with the real threat: his first school dance?!This hilarious send-up of middle school has the humor of James Patterson's I Funny, the underdog hero of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and the zany action of NERDS... and features illustrations by co-author Matthew Holm, New York Times bestselling illustrator of Babymouse, Squish, and Sunny Side Up.Plus: talking moths.

Editorial Reviews

FEBRUARY 2017 - AudioFile

The narrator of the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Ramón de Ocampo, applies his hallmark enthusiasm to Marvin Watson’s introduction to middle school in his pork-obsessed town, Butcherville. Listeners will cringe and laugh out loud in equal measure as Marvin is subjected to the horrors of middle school, where he’s befriended only by outcasts and taunted by his cousin, Stevie. At home, he’s relegated to the attic bedroom by his new baby brother. When Marvin teams up with Fatima and Lee for a science presentation, listeners will be breathless from laughter. De Ocampo’s best creations are the giant moths who’ve taken up residence in Marvin’s attic—they watch baseball—and the Shakespeare-quoting spider that is stalking the town. This production is truly a tour de force. M.F.T. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

07/11/2016
Babymouse illustrator Holm and Follett met in middle school, and this alternately goofy and suspenseful story introduces Marvin Watson, whose own middle school experience is off to a poor start. He splits his gym shorts in front of his class on his first day, his parents are distracted by their new baby, and Marvin’s rich and popular cousin, Little Stevie, mocks his every move. After Marvin’s parents move him up to the unfinished attic so Baby Harry can have Marvin’s room, vials from one of Marvin’s science experiments mysteriously empty overnight, leading Marvin to discover three enormous and talkative moths—Artistotle, Abraham, and Ahab. Marvin makes a few human friends in addition to the moths, but interludes between chapters reveal a Shakespeare-quoting killer draining the blood of local animals. As that mystery deepens, the laughs come often, thanks to the banter among the moths and the oddball, pork-centric setting of Butcherville, home to the famous Pork Loaf Log Roll and streets “like swanky Loin Lane and the unfortunately titled Butt Boulevard.” Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary Management. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

Praise for Sunny Side Up:*"A humorous yet emotional story with a memorable protagonist." — School Library Journal, starred Review*"In the hands of the sibling creators of Babymouse and Squish, even a story inspired by troubling circumstances in their own mid-1970s childhoods offers hilarious turns aplenty... Funny, poignant, and reassuringly upbeat by the end but free of glib platitudes or easy answers." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review*"Matthew Holm's loose, less-is-more cartooning is easy to read and expressive." — Horn Book, starred review

School Library Journal

07/01/2016
Gr 4–6—If an episode of The Simpsons were written by a pair of 13-year-old boys, it might feel a little like this surreal stew of science run amok, middle school high jinks and angst, corporate mayhem, and the worst Harvest Dance ever. For Marvin Watson, the start of middle school is one more horror in his increasingly difficult life. A new baby brother; the realization that his wealthy, popular, and evil bully of a cousin will be a fellow classmate; and a wardrobe malfunction on the very first day are just a few of Marvin's troubles. To make matters worse, the only two people who will talk to him are "super smelly" Lee and intelligent but socially inept Fatima. Oh, and Marvin's unauthorized experimentation on one of the myriad products from Pork Loaf International, the town's main employer, may be responsible for not only the three human-size moths wreaking havoc in his new attic bedroom but quite possibly for the mysterious and deadly, Shakespeare-quoting "elephant vampire" as well. Town hysteria results in an incident of book burning, most of the characters fall just short of caricature, and the humor feels a little forced at times, but this laugh-out-loud goof fest will likely capture the imaginations of many reluctant readers. VERDICT Selling this one to fans of fart jokes and science humor will be as easy as, um, pork loaf.—Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library

FEBRUARY 2017 - AudioFile

The narrator of the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Ramón de Ocampo, applies his hallmark enthusiasm to Marvin Watson’s introduction to middle school in his pork-obsessed town, Butcherville. Listeners will cringe and laugh out loud in equal measure as Marvin is subjected to the horrors of middle school, where he’s befriended only by outcasts and taunted by his cousin, Stevie. At home, he’s relegated to the attic bedroom by his new baby brother. When Marvin teams up with Fatima and Lee for a science presentation, listeners will be breathless from laughter. De Ocampo’s best creations are the giant moths who’ve taken up residence in Marvin’s attic—they watch baseball—and the Shakespeare-quoting spider that is stalking the town. This production is truly a tour de force. M.F.T. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2016-06-28
A down-on-his-luck middle schooler discovers his town has some new arthropod inhabitants.In the town of Butcherville, where processed pork products reign supreme, Marvin Watson's middle school career isn’t beginning particularly well. The white boy’s diabolical cousin (and pork-product heir), Little Stevie—who makes Dudley Dursley look like a Boy Scout—has it out for him and seizes every opportunity to humiliate him. Marvin is nearly friendless except for the malodorous Lee, another white boy, and the bespectacled and elaborately braced Fatima. His parents have moved him up to their ramshackle attic so his caterwauling baby brother can have his room. On top of all these problems, he’s discovered that three giant anthropomorphic, wool-eating, sports-loving moths have taken up residence in his attic and that a giant bloodthirsty, Shakespeare-quoting spider is terrorizing his town. Though Marvin isn't always likable—he often thinks of himself before others and makes the wrong decision—he must work together with Lee and Fatima to save his town from imminent arachnid destruction. Large, clear, full-page illustrations enhance each chapter, making this a giggle-worthy read-aloud. The whimsy, however, often meanders into full-fledged ridiculousness and combines with vague and unresolved plotlines for an unsettled conclusion. Readers willing to overlook this, however, may well appreciate the absurdity and humor. While not particularly substantive, this is the whole hog for silliness. (Fantasy. 7-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171291457
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	10/01/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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