Saturday, June 23, 2012

Matthew Meets the Man


Nichols, Travis   Matthew Meets the Man   
 Macmillan Books/ Roaring Brook Press  2011      164p  $15.99      978-1-59643-545-2           ms/hs   G    Realistic fiction

As Matt enters his freshman year at high school, he is determined to get himself a drum set so that he can be in a cool band.       He feels that he is all grown up, but when he encounters The Man, he realizes that he must learn how to outwit him.  Matthew Meets the Man is about how Matt copes with authority: his dad, his teachers, his boss and any adult who is in charge of whatever!  This funny book takes you through Matt’s freshman year of getting adjusted to high school.  He encounters authority figures at every turn, starting with his own dad, and he must learn how to effectively communicate with every one of them, whether it is his boss at the Mexican place or the principal at school.  Many funny things happen to Matt, including meeting his first girlfriend and wondering if he is ready for the relationship.  Through all of this, Matt does not want to play the trumpet any more. He would rather get a set of drums and be in a cool band, but his father suggests he get a job first and earn the money for the drum set.
The book has many illustrations but it is not a comic book.
  The reading level is quite simple, and the book sometimes reads like an elementary-school book. There were moments when I felt it was a 12-year-old telling the story and at other times the voice sounded like a mature adult telling the story.

G    
Magna Diaz        Self-realization, Realistic fiction, Hi-Lo books

 

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