I was lucky enough to come across this book while searching for a birthday gift for a little friend of mine. I was intrigued by the title, picked it up, and then had to read the ENTIRE thing. What a fabulous book!

The words are clearly printed on a white background, the pictures are large and colorful, and the humor in what Martha says will keep readers of all ages entertained.

Not only does the story deal with standing up for what you need, but I found that I could use this in my practice as a speech-language pathologist. Martha, when she eats alphabet soup, gains the ability to speak because all the letters go into her brain instead of to her stomach. But when some letters are left out, she has trouble communicating. When she gets all her letters, she can communicate just fine. A lesson! Wow!

I've read a lot of children's books, and this is a gem. Don't miss it.

Martha Blah Blah is about a dog who can speak when she eats alphabet soup. With her new-found language, Martha has adventures, helps people and animals and learns new things. She does have a dilemma, but she overcomes it to save the day. The illustrations in this book enhance the story. The illustrator uses large watercolor images that are humorous and does a good job of showing what is going on in the story. The author uses words that make the book easy to understand and employs a large font so that they are easy to read. The author also includes footnotes in some parts of the book, which can draw the attention away from the illustrations to the footnotes. Without the footnotes, however, one would not be able to decipher what Martha is saying when she loses her voice. Even though the footnotes draw attention away from the illustrations one can have fun trying and decipher what Martha is saying and then the answer is at the bottom of the page. In a small way, the footnotes make one think while reading the book. I believe that this book is entertaining and sparks the imagination. Like most children' books, it has a happy ending, which makes the story even more likable. Overall, I think that Martha Blah Blah is an excellent children's book that deserves to be read.

I read this book to my nephew, not knowing how completely hysterical the Martha series is.

The illustrations, including the very funny side dialogues, is straight-forward and not at all confusing. You can read the book to smaller children without the side dialogue, and they'll still understand it. Older kids can read the dialogue out loud and be just as entertained.

The story isn't scary, and does give a few good but not preachy lessons: avoid being greedy, don't abuse the telephone (there's a great picture of Martha yakking away on the telephone and getting reprimanded), and that being understood when you speak is very important.

Lots of fun, quick little story, ideal for bedtime. I highly recommend it.

Hog-Eye is one of my children's (6 and 8) all-time favorite books. (It's one of my favorites as well!) The little pig's creative explanation of how she missed the bus is humorous, but her family's sideline responses to the story are what make this book really wonderful. Hog-Eye demonstrates just how important a little ingenuity and the ability to read can be.

My six year old daughter and I have read this book over thirty times, and we're still laughing! A little pig, trying to explain why she missed school, invents a tall tale about a hungry wolf, a soup recipe, and her own ingenious efforts to escape the wolf's clutches. Don't miss this book!

Hog-eye is one of those books that elementary librarians like myself search for. It is a wonderful excellent read aloud that the children enjoy especially the "underwear" part. It is also a wonderful book about the importance of reading without hitting the children over the head. Also I could really get into reading aloud this book. It was such a fun experience for students and I. Thank you Susan Meddaugh.

I love this book. Anyone who has a dog will love this book. Actually, anyone will love this book. A funny, touching,
story that is wonderfully illustrated. I know it's a children's book and they will love the story but it's also a great book for adults.

I love reading this book to my kids age 3 and 6. It makes me laugh as well as them! I have given it as gifts several times. I especially enjoyed giving this to a vet. friend's son! The other Martha books are good too, but if you can only have one, I think this one is the best.

Martha is wonderful- she is a dog's dream. She can use the phone to order pizza and meat, she can talk to her dog friends and be their translator to the their humans- and then she learns to win radio contests to go places! She is even smart enough to put on a disguise to get in where she isn't allowed, but slips up because she can't resist a flying frisbee. Everything she ends up telling the other hotel guests after her exiled doggieness is discovered is very true- we say we love our dogs yet so many people disallow them basic "dog rights". When given a chance, most dogs can behave appropriately in public, and as Martha says, they need to be given that in exchange for what they've done for us. Keep our parks and hotels dog friendly!

But Martha says it so much better than I. :-)

Take one dog with attitude, add one can of alphabet soup, and you've got Martha, who not only talks, but isn't afraid to speak her mind. In this book, her fourth adventure so far, Martha learns the power that other people's (or animal's) words have on our self-image.

Every day, Martha walks herself around the neighborhood, and every day things are pretty much the same -- until Bad Dog Bob moves in. Bob spends his days lurking under the porch steps, then charging at anything that moves into his line of sight. Only two things keep him from ripping his neighbors to shreds -- his chain, which only reaches so far, and his owner, who always screams, "BAD DOG, BOB! BAD DOG! "

Then someone else moves into the neighborhood. This animal can talk, too, but Martha soon realizes her new neighbor is only parroting her words back to her. She teaches the bird to say "Good dog! What a dog!" and "You must have fleas!"

When Martha decides one day to tell Bad Dog Bob what she really thinks of him, she's not counting on his chain being broken. Just when Martha is sure Bob is going to have her for a doggie treat, a voice from above says, "Good dog!" Suddenly, Bob smiles. Quick-thinking Martha teaches her parrot friend more words of praise, and Bad Dog Bob turns into Tail-wagging Bob.

My kids love the Martha books because they are so funny. I love them because they are great jumping off places for discussions of serious topics. This book led to a discussion of just what it means to call someone "Stupid Head." I can't say we've totally eliminated that insult or others like it from our house, but we're working on it.

We can all learn to speak a little nicer and be open to change others through kindness, by reading this to kids of all ages. My three year old loves this book.

This is a beautiful book and a wonderful story. It has a message about the power of words to make people (or dogs) feel good about themselves.

17 years ago this book was given to my little sister. She had me read it to her so often I memorized it. When I had my daughter, she gifted it to her. Now all 3 of us have it memorized. My daughter is 13 and we have put the book up to pass onto her daughter.
Susan Meddaugh has poetic rhyming down to an art.
The book teaches responsibility and "It just goes to show, how caring can grow, even when it starts out with your brother." A great read!

My two-year-old adores this book. I have it memorized from reading it to him so many times upon demand. The prose has a nice rhythm and rhyme that carries hints of Dr Seuss without the made-up words. The messages on caring, friendship and siblings are positive also. It should definitely [stay] in print!

My mother began reading Maude and Claude Go Abroad every night to me when I was five years old. Its clever, creative, and hilarious rhyming narrative teaches lessons about sibling rivalry, family, and the importance of friendship. Twenty years later, I still have the entire book memorized! A must-have.

An excellent book about a brave young girl. Get it for your daughter!

My son Zachary adores this book and it was a part of our bedtime reading ritual for quite awhile. Although he is now 3 years old, this is a classic for us to revisit time and time again. The illustrations are wonderful. A great gift for a first-time mom or for your own children.

This is a completely charming book, showing a child going through his day, from waking to sleep, in a world surrounded by imaginary and intriguing creatures. They are vaguely Dr. Suess-like, but the illustrations and simple, short rhymes appeal to even smaller children. My one-year old nephew loves it (again and again), and my child, now eight, enjoys these unique creatures and the made-up words. It is a book that I'm happy to read too, especially in the evening, since the child goes to sleep in the end. I highly recommend this book, with its great illustrations and rhythm.

This book was tons of fun. Annie manages to stay out of her mother's view while she creates her own unique ensemble. While mom has visions of a sweet, demure girl in ribbons and a pinafore, Annie is transforming herself into a wild mix of long underwear, ballet tutu and ponytails all over her head! A smear of peanutbutter on the lips is the final touch before she shocks her mother and runs to the door to throw herself into the arms of her grandma -- a grandma who is sporting a cowboy shirt, purple pants and big bobbly earrings! Looks like Annie's taste in clothes skipped a generation. What fun

A trick-or-treating little girl with her dog (who's dressed up like a cat) picks up a coupon that an old lady drops and follows her to return it. Quite unsuspectingly they end up in an exclusive supermarket for witches and cats! The drawings in this book are a stitch and are so filled with funny details that I had a lot of fun pouring over each page. When the girl & her dog as cat are discovered, chaos insues. The madcap adventure is a nice Halloween treat to slip into your little goblin's bag of goodies.

I love the grocery store items. Each time I read it to my children I find something "new" added to the shelf. Actually I'm the one that begs to read this book.

My son loves this book. I have been reading it to him since he was about 1 year old (he is 2 1/2 now). We read it over and over and pick out all the little surprises in the artwork. He even "helps" me read it. We are on our second copy!!