Book Description

Arthur wants to be in on the action when Francine decides to form a rock band that will be "a million times better than the Backstreet Boys." But Arthur doesn't make it through auditions, and Francine chooses Molly, Binky, Fern, and Mrs. MacGrady instead.Then the Backstreet Boys come to Elwood City and change everything! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Great Book! Backstreet Boys are not Passe or Sellouts.
I loved this book! it is about Muffy telling Francine that the Backstreet Boys are sellouts. Soon we see her starting a band called "YOU STINK!" Even Arthur and his friends start a band called "WE STINK!" I thought that the book was great... It deals with crushes, and what it may be like to be in a band...

After reading the other review where this person called the Backstreet Boys Passe really should go and listen to their CDs.. They have been around for 10 years.. It took the book and the DVD of this show to prove to me that these kids were great...

It even took a concert to show Muffy that the Backstreet Boys were not sellouts... Great book!

terrible in any key!
marc brown is scraping the bottom of the barrel with wafer-thin plots for the humanoid/aardvark arthur and his gang... consider this book a big waste of your time.... not even the guest appearance of a passe boy band can redeem it... (although perhaps if new edition or the jackson five had been included instead.....)

Great
For the age that this book is written for, it is really a well written story. The pictures are incredible, and the dialogue is great. The Backstreet Boys rule!

An combination that can't be beat
I have been a fan of Arthur books ever since I began reading. This is a cute story that well illustrates that making music is truly about the music,not about the profits.
Francine,the resident tomboy of the group, is tired of her friend Muffy swooning over the Backstreet Boys. She decides to form her own group that won't be "sellouts." Her band,named U Stink,quickly becomes the hot local ticket. Francine gets irritated at her bandmates for wanting to do interviews and sell cds while Muffy conspires to become the new manager for the Backstreet Boys when they come to town. By the time the Boys come to town,the members of U Stink are all at odds with each other while Arthur and a couple of his friends rejected by Francine form a band called We Stink. At the concert,Muffy traps Nick Carter in an elevator and gives him a sales pitch. While waiting for Carter,U Stink is sent onstage to play a song but freezes. Then U Stink gets some help from the Boys to finish out the song. Afterword,the members of both "Stink" bands become friends again and Francine realizes that the BSB are about having fun while making music and that they aren't "sellouts"
Cute book recommended for Arthur and BSB fans of all ages!

Don't Panic... It's Only Rock and Roll
It's the popular children's series, "Arthur," and here come the Backstreet Boys. Uh oh. What's going on? The Backstreet Boys? Arthur's sold out, right? What better way to pander to today's audience, eh?

The thing is, selling out, or rather, not selling out, is actually an important theme of this book. When Francine finds her friend Muffy Crosswire watching the Backstreet Boys, she calls them "sellouts," saying that they're only interested in money. She then creates her own band, based on the theme of not selling out. Things, however, begin to fall apart when Francine begins to suspect her band members of only being in it for the money. Then, the Backstreet Boys come and teach everybody a lesson about the appreciation of music.

So, it would seem that the book version of the Backstreet Boys "Arthur" special does not overdose on the Backstreet Boys, featuring them mainly towards the end of the story. The illustrations are of the same brilliant, vibrant quality I've come to expect from the Arthur series and are pleasant to look at just in themselves. This book is definitely recommended... ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Like Watching an Uncut DVD
That's how I feel when reading one of Stephen Krensky's adaptions of the "Arthur" stories. He manages to do justice to the entire story, while also adding new details and bits of information to make it even more interesting. Unlike some books based on TV series, major plot or character details aren't changed and you don't feel like you're missing anything.

In this story, Arthur and his friends discover the game of marbles. Arthur and Buster find that there's a fun game to be played with them after Muffy dismisses the collection she received as a useless birthday present. Arthur learns that his Grandma Thora was champion player and starts taking lessons from her, but finds that she didn't teach him everything.

Fans who saw the original television story will once again be pleased with Krensky's ending. It keeps to the moral of the story, while at the same time adding something new. Another great addition to the Arthur Chapter Book series. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great Chapter Book
Arthur wants to see his favorite band BINKY in concert, but because DW took so long deciding on which pair of shoes to buy, he gets the very last row in the auditorium. He day-dreams of being picked out of the audience by a reporter to meet the band. To his surprise his father is catering the event for the backstage crew and he gets to go backstage. Eventually Arthur asks his friends to join him after much indecision. Arthur is surprised again only to learn that BINKY the band is a computer generated holligram and not real people.

A Band Book
Arthur finds a song he likes a lot,so he tries to find what it's called,until he's in a concert.Its better than it sounds,but the book is a bit lucky,I didn't give it two stars. ... Read more

Book Description

"Arthur is overcome with dread when he hears that his teacher is coming to stay at the Reads' house.But soon Arthur discovers that Mr. Ratburn wears casual clothes like everyone else, loves cartoons, and actually knows how to have fun.Arthur thinks his problems are over, until he gets an A on his next test, and his friends call him a teacher's pet.In the end the joke's on them, as Arthur and Mr. Ratburn set record straight once and for all.

Here's another Arthur Adventure that will tickle the funny bones of Arthur fans old and new." ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Arthur's Teacher Moves in
What a situation for a young student to find themselves in--Arthur's teacher is staying with his family while repairs are being made to his roof.Arthur gets a glimpse of Mr. Ratburn as a person, rather that just his teacher.His friends turn on him because they think he is getting special treatment.When Mr. Ratburn discovers the dilemma. his solution is very original.Can be a good discussion of how teaching used to be; when often teachers did live with their students or at least have dinner at their home.

Marc Brown Never Disappoints!
Poor Arthur, his mom has just informed him that his teacher Mr Ratburn is going to be staying at their house for awhile.His roof was damaged in a storm and he needs a place to live, while it's getting repaired.Arthur is in a panic.He tells his parents that Mr Ratburn can't live at their house...it's just not right...school is school and home is home.But after Mr Ratburn moves in, Arthur finds out he's just a regular guy who wears jeans and tee-shirts around the house, watches TV and likes dessert.All goes well until Arthur gets an A on a very difficult math test.Now all his friends are mad at him.They won't stop teasing him and calling him names.Fortunately, Mr Ratburn comes up with a clever idea and saves the day.....Marc Brown has again written a funny, witty, gentle story about life's day to day ups and downs.His characters are very down to earth, their troubles, real and his solutions, always true to life.Youngsters easily identify with Arthur and the gang and learn simple lessons of how to handle everyday problems that pop up, time and again.You can't go wrong with an "Arthur" book.It's always a favorite and a great addition to all bookshelves. ... Read more

Amazon.com

After hearing rumors that Francine is planning to kiss Arthur at herparty, Arthur's sister, D.W., saves the day in an unexpected way. DeviousFrancine tricks Arthur with a kissing game, and Muffy leads him out to thegarage to await his fate. D.W., walking by with their dog, Pal, catches on tothe plot, and sends Pal through the cat door to warn Arthur with a few sloppykisses of his own. "Run for your life!" yells D.W., and Arthur does, but notwithout a pause to snag a big piece of cake for his new bodyguard!

Children are enraptured with Marc Brown's stories of the unique aardvark hero onPBS, as well as in many early reader picture books. And with the entertaining"Step into Reading" sticker book series, there's a bonus--two full pages ofpeel-off stickers enable kids to practice their reading and writing skills.Certain words in the story are printed in blue ink--young readers are encouragedto find the corresponding sticker picture and place it over the blue word. Thesecond page of stickers illustrates places and themes and allows budding writersto try their hand at creative writing as they make up stories based on thesticker images--in this case, aquarium scenes. Don't miss Arthur's Reading Race or any ofArthur's other "Step into Reading" adventures. (Ages 3 to 6) --EmilieCoulter ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Not my favorite
The rest of you may like this, but I just personally don't. It just has a boring plot, finding the Popular Girl magazine and just taking that popularity test. So if I were you I wonldn't read this boring book.

One of my Favorite Arthur Books
I have mostly all the Arthur chapter books, and this is almost at the top of the list. I liked this book because Sue Ellen and Fern want to find out what their "friendship rating" is. But since the magazine with the test is for teenagers, it wasn't a good test for them. Read the book to find out why! ... Read more

Book Description

Three favorite Arthur Adventures now available in one gift anthology!

Now three favorite Arthur Adventures-Arthur's Pet Business, Arthur's New Puppy, and Arthur's First Sleepover-are all in one volume! Arthur fans will cheer for Arthur as he takes on his own business, tries to train his new puppy, and hosts his first sleepover. This treasury is destined to become a book of friends and fun for old and new Arthur fans alike. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Fun and interactive book for your toddler
This is not an interesting book from an adult perspective, but my 2 1/2 year old loves to read this over and over (and over) again. While the book is cute enough, I don't get it. Ultimately, it doesn't matter if I do -- she's who I bought the book for, and it's a favorite. She likes the repetition and finding the hidden stuff under the flaps. The stickers were fun and it didn't seem to matter that you only get to do that part once. The flaps can be hard at first, so the child will need your help until they've loosened up. We haven't had any torn, and my daughter tends to be a book-tearer. We also got the Christmas book (Arthur lift the flap and stickers) -- which we're still reading. These books seem to strike a coard with toddlers. We'll definitely be buying more!

Cute, the first time
The first time through, the book was fun. My son enjoyed lifting the flaps (which were difficult and he ended up tearing most of them). He also enjoyed finding the little love bug, placing the stickers and the card activity at the end of the book. However, once you've lifted the flaps and placed the stickers, it wasn't interesting enough to read over and over.

I liked this book a lot!
On the first page of this book you have to find five special things that are hiding inside all the flaps all around the pages of the book. Then you look at Arthur's Valentines and guess who they are for! They even open up! In the back of the book there is a valentine that you can punch out and make your own valentine. There are stickers in there to put on the valentine! I really liked this book a lot! ... Read more

Book Description

Arthur has to do a science fair project, but all of the good ideas are taken: Buster is building a rocket, Muffy is growing crystals, and Francine is making a bird feeder. Arthur learns a valuable lesson when he finds his father’s old solar system project in the attic and tries to use it for his own science fair project. Includes two pages of stickers to help beginning readers create their own Arthur stories. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

"Edutainment" - But Definitely Not the Worst
Based on the "Arthur" episode by the same name, "Buster Baxter, Cat Saver" teaches a lesson, but at the same time includes humor that escalates to greater and greater levels throughout the story. When Buster "rescues" a cat from a tree, he at first denies that it was an act of heroism; he just happened to be in the right place at the right time. As more and more attention starts be heaped on him, he starts to really get into being a hero, even starting a script for his own television series, which he states will be "edutainment." ("It's supposed to be a combination of entertainment and education, but often ends up being the worst of both.") When he starts trying to get the Brain to do his homework and being otherwise pompous, his friends start hatching schemes to try to bring his eager down to size. This is one bunny, though, who isn't so easily swayed.

Buster Baxter Cat Saver
My class of first graders loved this story. This story hasfunny things happen to the characters. Arthur is upset because Busterthinks he is better than everyone. This story has many plots and mysteries as Buster's friends try to show him that he is not as brave as he thinks. It is easy to read and easy to follow, but NOT BORING!

My daughter loves this whole series
My 7-year old daughter (2nd grade) loves this entire series of books. When she was younger (up to kindergarten) she loved the "adventure" series of Arthur books. We made the transition to the chapter books because they have so much more story to them. They were perfect at the age where I would just read them to her, and by now we're at the point where she reads them to me. We have LOTS of books, but no others have held her interest as well across these stages. Fantastic value for the money. I automatically buy each new chapter book as they're released. ... Read more

Book Description

Two new chapter books present Arthur and his friends for fans ready to read on their own. Each book features longer Arthur Adventures at a third-grade reading level and has loads of kid appeal. Arthur is in top form as he tries to save his friendship with Buster and teams up with his buddies to help clear Binky of vandalism. Arthur fans will want to read and collect both of these new chapter books! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An average story
"Binky Rules" is just not one of the best.It has a plot that isn't fiting in the story.So if you want my opinion, I wouldn't read this one. ... Read more

Book Description

What's in Arthur's woolly mittens? Five fingers, of course! Children will

explore numbers and the concept of what's inside. Each numeral is accompanied

by its number word as well as the correct number of dots that represent it.

Kids can count everything from one tuba to ten multi-colored toenails (inside

D.W.'s sneaker!).




... Read more

Reviews (1)

Never has my daughter spent so much time intrigued by one bo
My daughter is 16 months old and picks up this book several times a day. She just loves to open the flaps and pretend to count the goodies found underneath. Although we've read it her countless times, she enjoys just spending her own time with this adorable book. ... Read more

Book Description

Marc Brown's new chapter book series features Arthur and his friends for sports fans ready to read on their own. Each book features a longer, sports-related Arthur Adventure and has loads of kid appeal. Arthur is in top form as he and his friends train for a literacy fund-raising race, try to help Binky cope with bench-sitting, give George a boost at recess, and adjust to a new soccer coach. Arthur fans will want to read and collect all of these new chapter books! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent book for a second grader
My son loved this book. I bought it awhile ago, when he was just learning to read. It wasn't the right time. So, it set forgotten on a shelf. A year or two later, when one rainy Sunday afternoon he ran out of his favourite Magic Tree House books, we found this one. And he loved it. It is a little bit more challanging to read, but he sailed right through it!

If I Wanted to Read "The Tortoise and the Hare..."
I'd read "The Tortoise and the Hare." Unfortunately, this isn't a good start to the Arthur Good Sports series, which has many good offerings. The idea is that a race is being held to raise money for reading. Fern, however, doesn't really seem interested in all of the crazy training everybody else is doing to get ready for the race. The thing is, readers who've read "The Tortoise and the Hare" can smell the ending a mile away. It's terribly predictable and overall not a very good story. ... Read more