Martha Speaks (book)

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Martha Speaks is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Susan Meddaugh, published by Houghton Mifflin in 1992. It is the first in a series of six books featuring a young girl's pet dog named Martha.

Plot[]

The book follows the adventures of a ten-year-old girl named Helen Finney, who fed her dog Martha some alphabet soup and something very mysterious occurred. When the letters got into her throat, they lost their way, so they traveled to her brain instead of her stomach. This gave Martha the ability to speak. But when the family complains about Martha talking too much, she stops eating her soup. Then a burglar breaks into her house, and Martha finds herself speechless. The burglar then gives her alphabet soup, and Martha regains her ability to speak again. She calls the police and the family is appreciative of what she did.

Reception[]

The Horn Book Magazine said the book was "Good-natured and amusing, with cheerful illustrations"^[2] and Patricia Tauzer writing for Common Sense Media wrote in a four star (out of five) review that, "the story is clever."^[3]

In popular culture[]

• Prior to an adaptation into a TV series of the same name in 2008, the book was featured on an episode of Reading Rainbow, and was also featured (but not read) on an episode of Kino's Storytime.

References[]