Handy Farmhand: Farm Dog Martha (Martha Speaks) by Susan Meddaugh

"I am going to LOVE the farm." says Martha.

"I think."

Visiting the farm, Martha imagines herself driving the big red tractor and becoming farmer C.K's all-star farmhand.

But city slicker Martha has a way to go to become a full-fledged farm dog. For openers, she doesn't realize that farm work begins way before the sun does. And she doesn't figure on sharpster sheep, who convince her that the woods (and farmhouse) are all part of their pasture, and conman clucksters in the henhouse who convince her to take a turn sitting on their eggs while they do a bit of free-range R 'n' R elsewhere.

But then a mean-looking gray "dog" drawn by the roaming roosters appears in the pasture with a challenging "Wrooo-oooo-oooooo-oooo!" and it's up to the brave Martha to dispatch the marauding coyote with a few well-chosen Martha moves.

"You're a good farm dog, Martha," says C.K.

As in all of her easy reading books, Susan Meddaugh's Martha Speaks: Farm Dog Martha (Reader) (Green Light Readers; Level 2) (HMH Books, 2010) provides plenty of fun for fans of the PBSKids MARTHA series, based on Susan Meddaugh's ultra-popular Martha picture books. There are some follow-up vocabulary activities included, as well as a link to the PBS web site for more entertaining as well as educational games. For more advanced Martha readers, see also Martha Speaks: Shelter Dog Blues (Chapter Book), in which a lost collar leads our favorite talking dog to an unfortunate incarceration in the pooch slammer, where with typical elan, she organizes a dog rescue of tail-wagging proportions. As always, our Martha speaks for herself!