Mark Parisi (1) (1961–)

This is a great series for kids who like Big Nate. As with BN, there are just as many illustrations as there is text.

It starts off with this: "If you're alive to read this book, you have me to thank. You're welcome."

As I read this I had no idea what it meant and to be honest I was pretty far into the book before I understood, which just proves that I have no sense of humor. But I DO appreciate humor.

Some other examples of text to give you an idea of Marty's character.
Pg. 3--"I'll start show more with the basics. My name is Marty Pants and I wear black. I heard somewhere that artists wear black. I didn't choose to be an artist. I was born that way."
Pg. 6--"My dad told me someone who doesn't understand art is a rube. Rube is now my favorite word. McPhee is a rube. He's supreme king, lord, emperor, and prime minister of the rubes. He doesn't understand anything creative, especially not a brilliant artist like me."
Pg. 82--"I have trouble sleeping. It's not because Jerome is on my head. He always does that. It's not because of the rainstorm outside. It's not because of the cracker crumbs in my bed, although that doesn't help. It's because my teacher is an alien who wants to annihilate Earth! And I happen to like Earth! I'm using it at the moment."

As you can see, Marty Pants is a pretty funny guy. He loves to draw, hence all the illustrations in the book. His sister, Erica is always changing the way she spells her name, so he spells it differently through the whole book. I thought that was clever. On pg. 16 his cat leaves him a partially chewed up note that says "an alien is observing you." Then he sees the word 'annihilate' on his teacher's computer and he assumes that his teacher is the alien observing him and he's going to destroy earth. Far fetched, but that's the way Marty's brain operates. The main plot of the book is Marty trying to expose McPhee as an alien. I recommend for ages 7-10. show less

Marty Pants has a theory about his teacher Mr. McPhee. His theory: Mr. MrPhee is an alien. He goes through the story trying to prove this. He loves to draw and hang out with his friend since Kindergarten, Parker. Parker just happens to be a girl. He also has a sister named Erica who is like any typical teenage sister. She does not want anything to do with her younger brother. He also has a bully that he has named Peach Fuzz because he has a peach fuzz mustache. The worst thing in the world show more happens one day as he is walking home from school. His sister is holding hands with Peach Fuzz! Marty has so many things working against him. Simon is deemed the artist of the school. Marty is thwarted at every turn. He must prove that there are aliens trying to destroy the school or become the laughing stalk of the entire school. Fans of the Big Nate books and Diary of a Wimpy Kid will pick up this humorous story about Marty Pants. I would recommend this for any collection. There is a sneak peak at the second book in the series called Keep Your Paws Off! In the back of the book. show less

This says its for grades 3-7 - but i'd probably keep it to 5th grade & below.
Its silly & sorta cute but the story isn't catching me some I'm going to give up on it half way through.
Maybe I'd find it funnier if I was a 4th grade boy....

This is the second installment in the Marty Pants series. Marty’s cat, Jerome has something in his claws. It is a piece of Marty’s sisters’ diary. It says “Marty is a We…” The rest of the word is missing. Marty wants to find out what is going on. It will not be easy to sneak into his room and find her diary. Fans of the first book will want to pick this one up as well. This is also a great read alike for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and Big Nate series.