Tommy Trouble and the Magic Marble
Written by Ralph Fletcher
Illustrated by Ben Caldwell
Reviewed by Owen M. (age 7) & Oliver S. (age 8)
Do you like marbles? Well this book is about marbles and a kid named Tommy who loves to collect stuff. But he loves his marbles the most. Tommy has a mean kid on the block. His name is Spencer. Spencer says, "Do you want the marble for ten dollars?" "Yes," says Tommy. Tommy sells his mom's flowers to get money to buy the magical marble. Then he gets in trouble for selling the flowers. When he is not in trouble anymore, he goes outside and he sees his brother looking at a snake. Tommy shows Spencer the snake and he tells Tommy he will sell the marble for the snake. When they are about to make a deal, Tommy's little brother stops him. The little brother runs with the snake and sets him free! Tommy tries to get the snake but he did not get the snake. Will he get the marble?
I (Owen) like the part when Tommy threw the rock at the beehive and the bee stung his little brother's eye. I think Tommy felt bad. I also enjoyed this book as I read it because it reminds me of my little brother. I (Oliver) like the part when they wanted to make the deal for the snake. I felt I was in the book because I used to boss my sister, too.
We recommend this book to kids who love marbles. We used to collect marbles, too. We also recommend this book to people who like exciting endings.