Max's Logbook - Hardcover

Dr. Phil meets Captain Underpants in Max's Logbook, the latest illustrated journal of Marissa Moss, creator of the Amelia's Notebook series. Max is an imaginative, robot-loving young fellow who, as much as he would relish living on an alien planet, finds himself stuck in a house on Earth with two fighting parents. His logbook (jam-packed with sketches, doodles, and funny asides) is "for writing scientific stuff in," including experiments from "What happens when you microwave a marshmallow?" to his more poignant Invention #4--the Prevent-a-Divorce Machine, complete with toilet brush, flowers, and chocolates. Max recreates the perfect family out of eraser tops, including Eraser Dad (holding rubbery pizza) and Eraser Brother (who he can rub out when he gets mad at him). He and his friend Omar also make eraser aliens, and they draw a comic strip together with adventures like "Alien Eraser in How the Wind Blows" involving a whoopee-cushion parachute and a grim ending in a trash can. In addition to creating a colorful smorgasbord of genuinely entertaining experiments, inventions, and comics, Moss captures the pained voice of a kid who's seriously upset about his parents' impending divorce. Young people with their own "black clouds of worries" will surely be comforted by Max who maintains his sense of humor throughout and learns (from the alien eraser in his dream) that he doesn't have to choose between his divorcing parents, that he can choose his own world, "a planet that was perfect for me." (Ages 8 and older) --Karin Snelson

Gr. 3-5. Max's parents are both scientists, so he decides to create a record of the happenings in his life on graph paper. Max doesn't have a scientific mind, however, and his "logbook" is filled with scribbled pictures and a comic strip about an invented character, Alien Eraser, as well as his thoughts, which often focus on the disintegration of his parents' marriage. Moss, well known for her similarly formatted books about Amelia, effectively captures the workings of a young boy's mind through seemingly hand-lettered text and boisterous watercolor-and-ink illustrations that are frequently funny. At times, the rather sad story of a confused boy observing his parents' failing marriage doesn't blend well with the manic, humorous activity on the pages, but there's no doubting the energy of this unconventional novel, which comes packaged in a format that is sure to appeal to kids. Todd Morning
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