ANNOTATION

Arthur's experience babysitting for the terrible Tibble Twins is as challenging as he expected, but he finally gets control by telling them a spooky story.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This package contains a classic Arthur adventure, illustrated with bright, bold full-color art, as well as a fun-filled sound track that features lively character voices and an original musical score. Side 1 has turn-the-page signals for reading along; side 2 has uninterrupted narration of the story.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Brown's 16th adventure starring the affable aardvark has the bespectacled fellow take on his first babysitting job. Of course he has had experience looking after his sisters, D. W. and Kate, but they are less of a challenge than the terrible Tibble twins. Though D. W. telephones to coach her brother, the feisty, cowboy-suited twins almost get the best of their frenzied sitter. But luckily Arthur calls on his colorful imagination to come up with the story of a horrible, big, slimy, stinky green swamp thing who prowls around searching for his favorite meal-twin boys. Suddenly subdued, both youngsters take cover in Arthur's safe lap, where their pleasantly surprised grandmother finds them on her return. Typically loaded with kid appeal, Brown's tale is simple and satisfying. Little ones will savor the action-filled pictures depicting the riotous chaos caused by Arthur's charges. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

Arthur is going to babysit for the Tibble, or is that Terrible twins. The boys are truly a handful, and Arthur doesn't seem to be in control. The phone calls and advice from D.W. aren't much help either. But clever Arthur starts to tell a spooky story and soon the boys are sitting a close as they can. The timing is perfect, because their Mama arrives home and praises Arthur's babysitting skills. The pictures are full of energy and fun and work well in this new board book version. This Arthur story is also available in hard and soft cover.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3School and public librarians know how hard it is to keep Marc Brown's Arthur books on the shelf. The adventures of this comical aardvark have a timeless appeal to children. These book-and-tape packages are read by the author and move along at a good pace. Music and sound effects enhance the stories without being obtrusive. The tapes have page-turn signals on one side and none on the other. Brown occasionally adds a descriptive sentence or two to the text in his reading. Each tape begins with a theme song which is too long and not really catchy enough to encourage singing along. This is a minor drawback to an otherwise well-produced series.-Peggy J. Latkovich, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library, OH