Too Busy Marco

by Roz Chast, Roz Chast (Illustrator)

Overview

It's time for bed again, and Marco, a small red bird who lives with his (human) mother and father, simply has too much to do! He's got masterpieces to paint, underwater inventions to create, halfpipes to skate — or better yet, inventions to create so that he can paint underwater while skateboarding at a world-class level! How can it possibly all get done? When one idea builds on top of another, and every object he encounters just screams inspiration, why would Marco ever want to put on his pajamas and brush his beak? With humor and a great deal of energy, this delightful new character from acclaimed illustrator Roz Chast will rev kids up and wear them out—just in time for bed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416984740
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	08/31/2010
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.60(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD510L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Roz Chast is a staff cartoonist for The New Yorker and is the illustrator of Steve Martin’s popular children’s book The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children. She is also the author and illustrator of Too Busy Marco, Marco Goes to School, and Around the Clock.

Roz Chast is a staff cartoonist for The New Yorker and is the illustrator of Steve Martin’s popular children’s book The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children. She is also the author and illustrator of Too Busy Marco, Marco Goes to School, and Around the Clock.

Editorial Reviews

Marco, a revved-up red parrot who behaves like a boy, cannot pause for sleep. At bedtime, he is preoccupied with everything he could be doing instead. Marco envisions discovering new fish (like the "cube-headed la-di-dah"), painting underwater ("Naturally he would need to invent underwater paint"), and a career in bowling ("If that wasn't cool, Marco didn't know what was"). "Marco, aren't you forgetting about something?" asks his alarm clock, which starts chasing him at 7:45 and is still ticking an hour later. At the height of his indecision, Marco's saucer eyes spin like pinwheels as he wonders, "How could he do it all?" As in her New Yorker cartoons, Chast (The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z!) relies on voice-bubble asides and cartoon doodads to present an array of tempting, absurd options. Fidgety Marco finally snoozes, and he's shown skateboarding through space, along with the alarm clock, whose hands have vanished. Dedicated "to the real Marco," a bird in Chast's household, this study in hyperactivity recommends relaxation, though the fixation on overwhelming choices could leave some readers as breathless as Marco. Ages 4-8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

* "Chast’s signature cartoon illustrations . . . will amuse readers and listeners, allowing new discoveries with each reading. . . . Youngsters who are developing a sense of humor have no better place to start than here. . . . Perfect for repeated bedtime reading." - KIRKUS, STARRED REVIEW

"The irreverent asides of the doodly watercolor-and-gouache illustrations betray Chast’s New Yorker cartooning background, and to swell effect. Kids will recognize the disgruntled bristle of Marco’s plumage and agree: life is unfair! Parents, meanwhile, will tell them to go to bed anyway." — BOOKLIST

"Cartoonist Chast brings her affectionate, anxious line and fascination with the eccentrically ordinary to an original riff on bedtime avoidance." —Horn Book

From the Publisher

Gr 3—Marco the parrot is too busy for bedtime. Cartoon illustrations in watercolor, gouache, and ink show his human mother from the waist down and a talking alarm clock urging him away from his playthings. Thought bubbles depict his dreams of painting, scientific discoveries, skateboarding, and bowling. The images attempt to show that Marco has too many plans and no time for sleeping. However, cluttered with lines, objects, and color, the pages lack a focal point. Likewise, the story lacks development in plot or character. Adult fans of Chast's New Yorker cartoons may appreciate this loose artistic style, but most children will be better satisfied by Anna Dewdney's Llama, Llama Red Pajama (Viking, 2005), Amy Krouse Rosenthal's Little Hoot (Chronicle, 2008), Barney Saltzberg's Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready for Bed? (Candlewick, 2005), or Peggy Rathmann's 10 Minutes Till Bedtime (Putnam, 1998).—Julie R. Ranelli, Queen Anne's County Free Library, Stevensville, MD

School Library Journal