Arthur’s TV Trouble
By Marc Brown
Who doesn’t love Arthur? Marc Brown’s Arthur character has been a literary favorite of children for many years. There are a collection of Arthur books that cover many different topics and in this particular story Arthur is persuaded to buy some item he saw advertised on TV, the Treat Timer. Arthur desperately wants the Treat Timer and his parents refuse to give him money to buy it so he decides to earn money and pay for it himself. Arthur finds a job helping his neighbor sort his old newspapers. Once paid Arthur rushes to the store to purchase the Treat Timer only to find that it does not work how the advertisers said it would. In the end Arthur learns that items on TV are not always what they are advertised to be.
I first picked this book out because I thought that the plot would be about Arthur watching too much TV and was surprised to find out that in fact it was advertising on TV. I think that since it does address TV advertising this book would be great to read at home to children but not necessarily in a classroom setting. I say this because it is mostly parents that hear their children ask for items they see on TV, not teachers. Arthur‘s TV Trouble contained a lesson that was easy to understand. The illustrations were that of a classic Arthur book, there was a lot of color and detail, sure to hold the attention and interest of children. Overall the book is enjoyable and fun, a classic Arthur book.