Masterpiece

I personally read the book before presenting it to my 14 year old grandson. I thought it was an interesting story, based on the friendship of a boy and a beetle. It was a clean story, pointing out values in the story. Well written, and excellent service.

I have almost finished reading this book with my eight year old son, and we love it. The style is warm, humorous and intelligently written from the point of view of Marvin, the beetle narrator and artistic genius. The story set in New York follows the adventures of Marvin who having descovered he is amazing at ink drawings forms a friendship with a boy James, whose father, mistakes Marvin's masterpiece for his sons. Intrigue ensues as James and Marvin get sucked into a world of forgery, stolen artifacts and double dealing . A fast paced adventure with enough action for a reluctant reader and enough intrigue for a compulsive one.

Masterpiece Regardless of whether or not you have read Elise Broach's SHAKESPEARE'S SECRET, you will absolutely fall in love with a marvelous little beetle named Marvin. Marvin inadvertently discovers he is a miniatures artist when he dabbles in James's ink set. The uncanny ability to recreate Durer miniatures puts Marvin in a number of dangerous (for beetles) situations, especially when everyone mistakenly assumes that James is the talanted artist--and later when Marvin and James try to thwart an art heist! This novel has just the right blend of suspense, mystery, humor, and compassion to appeal to my middle school students. My students cannot put this book down once they start reading. As a matter of fact, one of my students got so wrapped up in the prose that she missed hearing her bus bell to go home. I thought SHAKESPEARE'S SECRET was a masterpiece, so imagine my surprise when I discovered that MASTERPIECE was as masterful!

Masterpiece by Elise Broach is a delightful story of the unlikely friendship that develops between a lonely young boy named James and a beetle named Marvin. In the tradition of E. B. White's Charlotte's Web and The Trumpet of the Swan, Broach takes this human/insect encounter out of the wild and into New York City, where Marvin lives with his parents and other relatives behind a kitchen cupboard in James's home. The two characters meet when Marvin draws an ink rendition of the skyline outside James's window as a birthday present. When everyone thinks that James is the artist, of course he can't tell them who really drew what's being hailed as a masterpiece. The two are drawn into a staged art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where officials hope to recover previously stolen masterpieces by a well known artist from the early Renaissance. You'll happily follow the adventures as the two work to unravel the complications of their deception while they learn the true value of art and friendship. The publisher, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, also features an excellent companion discussion guide on its Web site, [...]

I picked this book up because i had read Shakespeare's Secret and loved it. When i saw this book in the stores i knew i had to have it. i started reading it when i got home and couldn't put it down. The suspense got me gripping to my seat. The tale of a beetle and a boy was fantastic. By the end of the book my heart was racing. I can honestly say that this book is the key thing to have to be able to survive. If you have nothing to do pick up this book and start reading!