Martha
Kindergarten-Grade 2–Spirin tells the story of his wife and young son bringing home a crow with a broken wing. The full-page watercolor paintings of the artist's studio and his Moscow neighbors and cityscape are modern but have an old-fashioned feel that suggests a tale of long ago and far away. Martha is nurtured by her human family and given free reign in their home. Readers will cheer their decision to care for her when the veterinarian advises them to put her to sleep. "This bird will never fly again." Poor bedraggled Martha, wrapped in a bandage tied round with string and laid in a basket, soon becomes a saucy companion on the artist's table and even atop his head. Her gray wings and torso set her apart from the more familiar all-black American crows, and her friendly relationship with humans is intriguing. Many pages include an appealing framing device with a small image of Martha in varied poses. The recovered bird does eventually fly, and is set free. Adept at attractive page design and at shaping his story, Spirin weaves a satisfying conclusion to a tale that will be enjoyed equally as a read-aloud and for independent reading.–Margaret Bush, Simmons College, BostonCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.