Marveltown by Bruce McCall
recommended for ages 5 to 8
Marveltown is a gleaming, retro-futuristic city of wonder. Flying vehicles soar over, under, and around suspended roads and improbable towering buildings. Daredevil antics, such as sky-skiing and elevated marlin fishing, are commonplace. And every Saturday, all of the kids in the town get access to the giant dome where the adults spend the week inventing. The children create bully-tripping rugs, homework-eating mechanical dogs, and hypnotizing goggles—all of which come in handy when a group of adult-built robots goes haywire (thanks to a mouse gnawing through some wires) and threatens to destroy the town.
Bruce McCall’s imaginative kids’ book is mostly a wacky invention gallery. When the crisis that drives the plot finally develops, it feels a bit tacked on to give the bizarre contraptions and devices some context. Still, the book as a whole is a lot of fun, filled with colorful painted illustrations and packed with little visual details on every page.
“What Kids are Reading” is a regular feature in the Sun, highlighting children’s books available for young readers in Santa Maria. This week’s recommendation was made by Executive Editor Ryan Miller.
This article appears in Nov 6-13, 2008.