Book Summary: Marty and Lenny by Tania Woznicki
This is an encouraging story about the power of kindness.
Marty is a sweet, helpful monkey with lovely manners. Lenny is the complete opposite! He is a mean and selfish lion with bad manners and disgusting habits. After a memorable encounter with Lenny, Marty decides that things need to change. Join Marty as he makes a brave choice that changes EVERYTHING!
Book Review: Marty and Lenny by Tania Woznicki
The idea of the carefree soul, untethered by earthly woes, paired with a perpetually concerned best friend, is a staple in all possible forms of entertainment. Children’s literature is no exception. At its best, this kind of pairing will introduce us to characters like Frog and Toad. This book by Tania Woznicki is a heart-warming tale about the power of being good to others.
Although Marty and Lenny attend the same school, their personalities and behaviours couldn’t be more different from one another. In addition to being kind and helpful, Marty the monkey was also polite and respectful. Lenny the lion was the exact opposite of Marty. There are many things about him that are obnoxious: he’s egotistical, self-centered, and arrogant. There were times he became belligerent and aggressive towards others.
One day, Marty is appalled by Lenny’s deplorable table manners during lunch, and as a result, he dashes out in disgust. Marty spends the night tossing and turning, worried about Lenny and pondering ways he can help. The following morning, Marty gets up with a plan and resolves to simply become his close buddy. With this goal in mind, Marty set out to have a positive impact on Lenny’s life. Their journey is shown in illustrations that are unbelievably adorable and written in words that are easy to understand and hilarious, making it even cuter than you could ever imagine.
The friends have a great dynamic that kids can learn from. They can also see the value of friendship and how a good friend’s influence can improve another’s life. Sweet and honest, with a magnificent ability to show rather than tell, Marty and Lenny’s friendship story is just the perfect fit for the right reader.
From the first page, you get a definite sense of the art, style, and narrative approach that Tania Woznicki takes. Straightforward storytelling style, concise and leaner text, clean lines, strong and bright illustrations, and two of the quirkiest looking yet very cute characters make this graphic novel a must-read for kids. Overall, funny, genuinely sweet, with a helping of eccentricity and wit, Marty and Lenny is terrific fun. I’ll be looking forward to reading the next book by Tania Woznicki.
Where to read Marty and Lenny
Amazon lists the current Kindle, print and audiobook editions, and shows whether the ebook is in Kindle Unlimited right now.
To borrow it free, try your library: Libby and OverDrive lend ebooks and audiobooks with a library card, and WorldCat finds print copies near you.
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