When Martha's Away

This week our preschool class read "When Martha's Away, Lionel Will Play" by Bruce Ingman.What a funny book! The main character, Lionel, tells the story. We figured that out and then had to laugh when we realized that Lionel was a cat.You can imagine that having a cat tell the story begins a pretty silly book. Lionel tells his owner, Martha, about all the things he does while she's away at school.Among other things, Lionel calls his relatives on the telephone to catch up, reads a newspaper he has delivered specially to him so he can know about the goings-on in the cat world, and makes himself a nice meal to eat in front of the television.As if those situations weren't amusing enough, the illustrations are hilarious. We laughed out loud at Lionel's adventures.Perhaps the best part about this story is that it's a fast read that generates a lot of discussion. We all tried to picture what our own pets might do when we are not home. Mrs. Graham said that if her dog, Max, was making long distance phone calls while she was at work he'd have to go get a job to pay the bills.We recommend this book, which is as funny for adults as it is for kids. One note, however: parents may end up feeling a bit old during the reading of this one. In the telephone scene, Lionel is talking on a sturdy-looking black phone with a short curly cord and a rotary dial. The children asked Mrs. Graham to explain why his phone looked so strange and big. Just remember, moms and dads, this is the cell phone generation!In short, do read it and do enjoy it. But don't leave it where your own cat can peruse it and get any bright ideas...

Warmth and humor are welcome from the effortless Mr. Ingman. This book is the rare combination of wonderful illustrations and writing. Martha, a cat, has full days while her master is at school; phone calls, visitors and even a miastro performance at the piano for the neighborhood cats. A kid should be so lucky as to have this book near their bed. It belongs right inbetween, "Goodnight Moon," and, "Free Lunch."