FROM THE PUBLISHER

It's Martha Moth's birthday, and her friends are coming over for dinner. She makes a quick trip to the store, where she picks up: 1 polka-dot scarf 2 itchy socks 1 shrunken sweater and 2 kinds of scrumptious yarn Now Martha's ready to get cooking! She's just going to taste everything first to make sure it's as good as it looks . . .

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In this funny yarn from talented newcomer Evans, Martha Moth invites company for a birthday lunch, then eats all the garments she intended for her guests. The zaftig heroine sports a little bun, feathery antennae and orange wings. She starts to cook and realizes that the only thing in her cupboard is a jar of "dust" ("Great with wool!" says the label). She then goes shopping, picking up items such as "the finest polka-dot scarf she had ever smelled, two itchy socks, a shrunken sweater, and two different kinds of yarn. Delicious!" But at home, weak-willed Martha keeps "testing" her ingredients ("While this pan heats up, I will just see if this yarn tastes as good as it looks"); her already plump figure inflates to mountainous proportions. Just at the point Martha realizes she's eaten up everything but some mismatched socks, her affectionate friends arrive with a new jar of dust, and make the most of the socks. Evans's clean lines, bubbly shapes and flat, mottled areas of color display the same kind of tongue-in-cheek humor as the text, especially the store Martha visits (which looks suspiciously like a clothes closet), her thread-spool furniture and her electric stove. Crucially, Evans's cracked sense of humor looks to last longer than Martha's lunch ingredients. There should be enough for several more stories. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-Martha Moth has invited her friends Flit and Flora over to celebrate her birthday. At the store, she picks up a fabulous polka-dot scarf, two itchy socks, a misshapen sweater, and two varieties of yarn-a dream feast for a moth. As Martha begins to cook dinner, she samples the scarf-and within seconds has gulped it down entirely. The same thing happens as she prepares the other items. With each one she eats, the moth grows larger. Finally, she is left with two mismatched socks, no dust to sprinkle atop them for baking, and an extremely full belly. All is saved when her friends arrive with a birthday present-her favorite type of dust. The whimsical pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations add just the right amount of cheeriness to this unusual tale. While not an essential purchase, it can be paired nicely with other food-based books, such as David Pelham's Sam's Sandwich (Dutton, 1991) for a cuisine-themed storytime.-Lisa Gangemi Kropp, Middle Country Public Library, Centereach, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

So wrapped up in planning her birthday party that she almost forgets to buy food, Martha rushes out to pick up a tasty scarf, some yummy looking yarn and other delectables-only to discover after getting the provender home that it's too delicious-looking to wait. By the time her guests arrive, it's all gone except a mismatched pair of itchy socks. Happily, her friends Flit and Flora are not only understanding, they bring as a gift a large jar of Dust-just the thing to turn a bowlful of sliced, boiled wool into a fine feast. Evans illustrates this tongue-in-cheek debut with simple, dot-eyed figures, reminiscent (except for the wings and extra limbs) of Amy Schwartz's, and nicely suited to the puckish tone. The menu might not appeal to young readers, but the camaraderie will; pair this with any rendition of "The Little Red Hen" for contrast. (Picture book. 6-8)