I love the whole Magic Shop series--they are perfect for the child who is not ready to read or listen to a long novel, and the humor and lightness is spot on and a good introduction to the fantasy genre (this is not fantasy that takes itself too seriously--no Frodo or Harry Potter showdown against lords of darkness). And because of that lack of stakes to save the world against fiends, the age-appropriate struggles of the kids take center stage. In JEREMY, a boy struggles with being small and cute; in MONSTER'S RING, a child is bullied. All those down-to-earth worries are given full play in the genre of light fantasy, as kids use magic and inadvertently learn about themselves. But my feeling is that JENNIFER MURDLEY'S TOAD goes the extra mile. I think Coville was aware of this--Mr. Elives is often crotchety with the children who use his magical items, but he's actually quite gentle and respectful toward Jennifer by the end of the tale. It's because of her journey and the sacrifices she's made to get there. There is something intensely personal yet universal about her longing for beauty. Despite the humor of the story (all those toad-kissing fiascoes are a hoot), there is a real core of longing that makes the book speak to readers of all ages. From a very young age, girls receive messages about their need for beauty. Sometimes young adult literature locks horns with this perverse cultural value in novels like Donna Cooner's SKINNY, for example. But how wonderful that a middle grade book is getting readers to think about beauty--how much it really matters. Subtly, the book makes readers become sympathetic to a character who is not beautiful and mocked for being ugly. Not long ago I saw an interview with Dustin Hoffman on his own sad realization that the world was full of women who may have been wonderful people, but he never bothered to find out and enjoy getting to know them because they lacked beauty. He learned this lesson through empathy, when he had to dress as a woman for the movie TOOTSIE. The link is here: http://www.themarysue.com/dustin-hoff...It's a great interview, but I'm sharing it because no matter what age we are--kids, adults--we judge people based on appearance and have somehow been conditioned to do so. It takes an act of will to look beyond. A book like this one can help children care about someone they might have ignored in their own classroom. But maybe, maybe, they won't ignore such a person after reading books like this one. It's an uphill battle I'm glad to see Coville fight. The novel itself was well done, the plotting fun--I LOVED the fairy tale connection. I was expecting the story to go one way, and was delighted that Coville had a much smarter way to end things. Kids (who are used to "the cheese touch" from DIARY OF A WIMPY KID) will be kept guessing who gets the toad touch...and who might end up a toad forever. I'd call those high stakes! I liked Bufo's subversive critique of beauty throughout the book. He makes good points. Why SHOULD it be high stakes that Jennifer avoid turning into a toad? Why should beauty matter so much? At times his critiques hit a little close to home, and there is room here to discuss with kids some of these questions about beauty and valuation--when does your child reader think the toad is out of his mind, and when do they think he is right? If you wanted to talk about beauty and the lies our culture ensnares us with, it might be nice to use this book for reading aloud and discussing together.
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher might be the crowd favorite, but Jennifer Murdley's Toad is truly deserving, a perfect modern fairy tale.Jennifer, a girl in a "plain brown wrapper", is insecure about herself because of her looks and is often teased at school. Like in his better books, Coville takes time to develop Jennifer before magic happens to her. She's a thoughtful, kind girl and is mortified when, at the beginning of the book, must go to school wearing her brother's underwear. She confides in her best friend Ellen, who told Annette, who told Maya, who told Sharra, who naturally told everybody. It made for a particularly bad day. Escaping from the teasing on the walk home from school, Jennifer finds Mr. Elives' shop. Wanting a pet she leaves with a $.75 toad, who, before to long, starts talking.The toad, Bufo, is a demanding creature who can do perfect voice impressions. This makes for a funny story, especially when she takes him to school and he gets the angelic, snotty Sharra in trouble. But the story goes deeper than that. The best thing about the Magic Shop books is that it's not only the main character who gets helped by his or her item, but those around them find their lives shaken up and improved by the actions brought about by magical means.Jennifer, Ellen, her brothers and even Sharra are all pulled along on an adventure when it turns out there's somebody who wants Bufo, very badly. The main theme is of course the importance of inner beauty over outer beauty, as with Jennifer and Sharra and also the incorporation of the fairy tale about the mean beautiful daughter and the nice ugly daughter encountering an old woman in the woods. They are alternately punished and rewarded because of their actions. Coville acknowledges that appearances matter, there's no getting around it, but there are more important qualities. It's telling that in the afterword that Coville mentioned the desire to be "true" to Jennifer's character, because with the possible exception of Duncan Dougal (My Teacher Fried My Brains, but it's been years since I read it) there is no other Coville character who merits that sentiment. Coville refused to give her the traditional fairy tale ending (becoming pretty) that would reinforce our culture's emphasis on surface appearances. I loved the ending of this and appreciated how Jennifer gets the warmest reception of anybody else from Mr. Elives' at the end of the story. Coville's best work comes from merging the high and the low, using attention-grabbing storylines involving wacky magical creatures and joining them with deep multi-faceted characters and strong positive messages. Jennifer Murdley is authentic. I never read this when I was younger, but I wish I had.
What do You think about Jennifer Murdley's Toad (1993)?
http://readfantasybooks.wordpress.comLike all the other Magic Shop books, Jennifer Murdley's Toad starts off the same way. Jennifer is running away from some very cruel girls and ends up walking onto the street where the magic shop is located. She ends up buying a toad and when I found out what this story was really about I thought I wasn't going to like it. A toad? Seriously?Once I got into the story I was surprised that I was really enjoying it! It was much more interesting than I ever thought it would be. Pretty much the entire story is about Jennifer's toad turning her enemy into a toad, trying to figure out how to turn her back and realizing that by kissing someone else they turn back into a human, but the person they kiss is a toad. It is a huge cycle because someone always ends up being a toad and they have to figure out how to get rid of this problem while saving Bufo (her toad) from a witch. It ends up being a very entertaining story and children will really love how exciting it is!I actually enjoyed all the characters of the story. I thought they were all very well developed and had their own personalities, which made it very easy to distinguish between all of them. I think Jennifer's little brother was actually my favorite character besides Bufo because he was so cute and hilarious. Jennifer is an interesting character too, but she has a poor self image because she thinks she is ugly and all she wants is to be is pretty. There are some pretty good lessons taught in this book about beauty (what matters is on the inside), which can be discussed with children who may feel the same way.Since I read these out of order, which doesn't matter too much, I finally realized how Jerome and Roxanne (a couple of rats from some of the other books) came to be. It was pretty interesting getting to read about their first appearance in this series.Coville's writing is fantastic! I loved how easily the story flowed and how he was able to provide the amount of detail he did in such a short novel. There were also several larger words that younger children may not know so it would be a great vocabulary builder!Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I think children will love it too! It is a great fantasy novel for girls or boys and it contains many lessons that can be discussed together especially when read aloud. It is a fun, exciting, and entertaining read! This book ends up being one of my favorite Magic Shop Books!
—Ashley
Jennifer Murdley is not a pretty girl, but she is smart and likeable. In this children's chapter book, Jennifer stumbles upon a traveling magic shop and leaves with her very own talking toad! This toad winds up getting Jennifer, and her friends, into one uncomfortable pickle after another.Jennifer Murdley's Toad, with its elements of the supernatural and its whimsical feel, is a terrifically fun book! Coville has a knack for ending chapters with an interest-grabbing hook that makes the reader so eager to find out what's going to happen next. This drew me in so well that I often found myself reading long after I'd intended to stop.This book has a great message about beauty and would be a wonderful read aloud. Since it's part of a series, Jennifer Murdley's Toad would be a good choice for reluctant readers. It's quite an engaging read!
—Marika Gillis
I first read this book when I was 7 years old. At the time, I had a thing for frogs and toads, and read endless books on the subject when I wasn't out in ditches or ponds catching them. My older sister wanted me to enjoy reading, so she gave me this book as a gift.I hadn't read any of the other books in the series, nor any other fantasy books for that matter, but due to the stand alone nature of the book it didn't effect my reading at all. From the moment I turned that first page, this book irrevocably changed my life forever. I fell in love with magic and worlds I never knew, with making friends and defeating evil witches. Because of this book I've been to outer space, saved the earth countless times, commited genocide, toppled kings, crowned queens. I've been to scorching deserts and lived in a freezing glacier. I've had more different types of magic than I can count or recall. All from the comfort of my couch. I actually reread it on occasion, and still laugh every time.
—Elisebeth
