The Miniature World of Marvin and James (2014)
Series: "The Masterpiece Adventures" | Author: Elise Broach | Illustrator: Kelly Murphy | Publisher: Henry Holt and Company | Ages 6-9
The Masterpiece Adventures are companion books to Elise Broach and Kelly Murphy's E. B. White award-winning and New York Times best-selling novel Masterpiece.
In this Masterpiece Adventure from bestselling author Elise Broach, James is going on vacation for a week. His best friend, Marvin the beetle, has to stay at home. Without James to keep him company, Marvin has to play with his annoying cousin, Elaine. Marvin and Elaine quickly find themselves getting into all sorts of trouble-even getting trapped inside a pencil sharpener! But more importantly, will James still be Marvin's friend when he gets home or will he have found a new best friend?
Artwork by Kelly Murphy for this book was awarded and exhibited in the Society of Illustrators Original Art 2014, and the book received a Spring 2014 Junior Library Guild Selection and is a Bank Street College of Education's Best Books of the Year (Fantasy Category).
From Kirkus Reviews: "This winsome series debut is both a sweet story of cross-species friendship and a sobering new way to look at pencil sharpeners."
From Kirkus Reviews: "Murphy clearly revels in the Borrowers-style perspective of the beetles' miniature world: In their under-sink home, Marvin's drawing table is a die, and a propped-up birthday-cake candle dwarfs the family. The dramatic, blow-by-blow pencil-sharpener incident dominates the story, but it circles back to friendship. James really did miss Marvin after all, and a souvenir seashell (the perfect beetle hideout!) seals the deal."
From Publishers Weekly: "Murphy's pen-and-ink illustrations shift from glee to horror as she shows the bug-eyed beetles cannonballing into the soft pit of pencil shavings, only to have their escape route plugged by a pencil. Despite the simplicity of Broach's pared-down sentences, the story brims with both emotion and moments of quiet wisdom."
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