Masterpiece - Softcover

Broach, Elise

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1406321834 ISBN 13: 9781406321838

Publisher: Walker, 2010

Synopsis

Marvin, a beetle, lives with his family under the kitchen sink in the Pompaday's apartment. James, a boy, lives in that apartment with his family. After James receives a pen-and-ink set for his birthday, Marvin surprises him by creating an elaborate miniature drawing. James gets all the credit and before long these unlikely friends are caught up in an art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that could lead them to a famous long-lost drawing by Albrecht Durer. But James can't go through with the plan without Marvin's help – and that's where things get really complicated (and interesting!).

About this title

Product Description:

Rare Book

Review:

"Murphy's own pen-and-ink spot art reflects the text's sweet insouciance. With suspense, art history, complex family relationships (human and arthropod), and a resonant friendship, this enjoyable outing will satisfy the reserved and adventurous alike."--"Booklist"
"With overtones of "Chasing Vermeer" and "The Borrowers," this inventive mystery involves two families that inhabit the same Manhattan apartment . . . Broach packs this fast-moving story with perennially seductive themes: hidden lives and secret friendships, miniature worlds lost to disbelievers."--"Publishers Weekly"
"This is a great mystery for young adolescents."--"KLIATT"
"Delightful intricacies of beetle life . . . blend seamlessly with the suspenseful caper as well as the sentimental story of a complicated-but-rewarding friendship that requires a great deal of frantic leg-wiggling on Marvin's part. Murphy's charming pen-and-ink drawings populate the short chapters of this funny, winsome novel."--"Kirkus Reviews

About this edition

• Publisher: Walker
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1406321834
• ISBN 13: 9781406321838
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304