Too Busy Marco

Marco

by Roz Chast

It's time for bed again, and Marco, a small red bird who lives with his (human) mother and father, simply has too much to do! He's got masterpieces to paint, underwater inventions to create, halfpipes to skate -- or better yet, inventions to create so that he can paint underwater while skateboarding at a world-class level! How can it possibly all get done? When one idea builds on top of another, and every object he encounters just screams inspiration, why would Marco ever want to put on his pajamas and brush his beak? With humor and a great deal of energy, this delightful new character from acclaimed illustrator Roz Chast will rev kids up and wear them out--just in time for bed.

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens, Birds, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Rosalind "Roz" Chast is an American cartoonist and a staff cartoonist for The New Yorker. She grew up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, the only child of an assistant principal and a high school teacher. Her earliest cartoons were published in Christopher Street and The Village Voice. In 1978 The New Yorker accepted one of her cartoons and has since published more than 800. She also publishes cartoons in Scientific American and the Harvard Business Review.

Chast is a graduate of Midwood High School in Brooklyn. She first attended Kirkland College (which later merged with Hamilton College) and then studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and received a BFA in painting in 1977. She also holds honorary doctorates from Pratt Institute and Dartmouth College, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is represented by the Danese/Corey gallery in Chelsea, New York City.

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marco doesn't want to go to bed. He's too busy imagining his life as a deep-sea-diving artist-inventor, plus world-class skateboarder.

Children will love this book. Chast's zany illustrations (which I personally think are very ugly) and her child's sense of humor will win this book many tiny fans. You can also read about Marco's adventures in Marco Goes to School. Even though Marco STILL has inexplicably human parents, the book overall is a win. Adults may recognize Chast as the famous artist for the New Yorker magazine.

P.S. Chast also has a great vocabulary in this children's book, including one offhand "stratospheric" that had me cheering.

Not available in Spanish.

[Rachee]

Anybody trying to put a little one to sleep knows that bedtime is the equivalent to new explorations or creative stalling. In cartoonist Roz Chast's Too Busy Marco that is just what little Marco does. As bedtime nears, Marco finds that he is not tired and must explore his big dreams. He finds that has to paint, explore fish underwater, explore painting underwater and that there is too much to do and that bedtime cannot be an option! Eventually Marco finally goes to bed where he dreams of skateboarding through the cosmos with space monkeys.


Such a cute book! Bedtime remains a chore in my house. My tween always has one more thing she needs to do, one thing more to share with me or one more anything to get five more minutes that she claims that she needs. And working with parents and their little ones this book strikes me as that time before napping where new things MUST be explored and sleep is merely something that will get in the way.




My first look through I didn't really care for the cartoons; there seemed to be too much going on on each page. But as I read the book again I found that the frantic look and feel of the pictures reflects what kids are thinking when they hear the phrase, "It's bedtime" when there is still so much to do.




General considerations?

This book was really sweet. Unlike the soothing Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown or Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang this book reflects what bedtime is: a race to stall. This book has a good plot, its fun and funny, the characters are believable. My favorite page is his request, demand, appeal for Five teeny-tiny, eentsy-weensty,bitsy-witsy, small, little miniature, microscopic, shrimpy, measly minutes!

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a book that breaks the rules - a bedtime book that is gentle and also funny! It is bedtime for Marco the red parrot, but how can he go to bed when he has so many brilliant ideas?! He needs to invent underwater paint so that he can become the world's greatest fish painter! And Invisibility Gum! He has a great idea about how to become rich and famous and he should start working on that right now! Bowling! Banjo! Trampoline! (You know, I've always suspected that this is what it sounds like in my sons' brains when they are overtired. "Scooter! Cape! Dance-off!") Eventually, he succumbs to bedtime and finds that he has all the time in the world to meet skateboarding space monkeys... in his dreams. Awww.

[Shanshad Whelan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think something gets lost in this book. The intent is well-meaning and I actually like that Marco wants to do sooooo much stuff. Because I've been there, and I get the sentiment only too well.

What I don't get is why Marco is an anthropomorphic parrot who appears to have a human parent/guardian urging him to bed. Yet Marco also has an uncle who is a parrot . . . so I'm just not sure what the author is envisioning this bird's family is like. On top of that, throw in a talkative anthropomorphic alarm clock constantly offering comments and it gets a little much.

It's cute though, and the drawings are hysterically imginative.

[Davis Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently bought this book for my 7 year old son.

This book is about Marco, a cute little red bird that is just too busy for bed. His dreams are too big and just doesn't have time for bed. You will follow Marco on his adventures of all the things he needs to do. He finally falls asleep, but his dreams are so big, they continue after he is in bed.

Has easy text for young readers. My son had no issues reading this book alone. It would also be cute as a bedtime story for younger kids. Has very well done illustrations as well.

My son loves this book and has read it several times.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun story about a busy little bird who is much too busy to go to bed. It is funny and children can emphasize with the little bird's big dreams and plans.

It is a nice way to help active youngsters settle down to go to sleep. We enjoyed reading this book together and have read this one a couple of times.

[Lupine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I am a little bit Marco..ok a lot. Though we aren't thinking of the same things, I have those, "But then I need to....! And what about..?! And then I'll have to...!" moments. Very cute bedtime book that any kid or busy parent can appreciate.

[Deanna Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could be used before having students write as Marco used his imagination with everything. I would like to have this book in my writing center for students to use when they felt they had no idea what to write.

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can’t decide what to be when you grow up? Neither can Marco who in this story has been asked to go to bed and would rather continue to explore job options. Marco could be anything; artist, inventor, skateboarder, and more!

[Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

An avian Calvin and Hobbes, with the traditional alarm clock playing the role of Thomas Hobbes the tiger. Like Calvin, undiagnosed ADHD interferes with parental expectations.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roz Chast sans Steve Martin in an imaginative, fun new bedtime story that is anything but sleepy.

[Candida · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute book for bedtime storytime.

[Sonic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as hilarious as I expected after being a fan of her cartoons in "New Yorker" and elsewhere, but this is a very nice children's book!

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good bedtime book. Banjo? Check. Invisibility gum, awesome!

[Anners · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book perfectly captures how I imagine it would feel to experience Attention Deficit Disorder.

[Emilia P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful, of course. Roz Chast and Lynda Barry can be my surrogate comix momz.

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marco the bird is a fish-discovering, underwater artist/famous inventor/world-class skateboarder/banjo-playing bowler---he just doesn't have time to go to bed!

[Nancy Jo Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://ecslibrary.edublogs.org/2011/0...

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute, maybe too busy, book about a bird that doesn't want to go to bed because he has too much to accomplish.

[martha]

I deeply identify with this bird.

[Hannah Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is good for students in Pre-k to third grade. The proposed Fountas and Pinnell level for this book is about a G. This book has so many colorful illustrations that filled each page. There is a lot of humor in this book, and it reminds me of a typical child at bedtime. He asks for five more minutes because he has things to do like invent stuff, skating, bowling, and painting. In the end, he does all of those things-in his dreams. This book is absolutely adorable, and it almost relates to adults too--always taking on too many things at once. I found that this book had received "2010 Kirkus Reviews -- Starred Review (*).

[David Scrimshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone wants Marco, the talking bird, to go to bed. But Marco has too much to do. Like paint. And discover new fish. Maybe to go underwater and paint fish. And invent new things. Like vehicles on stilts. And then talk about it all on TV. And go into outer space.

Even though this book did not have a talking rodent, I identified with Marco's desire to get on with his projects and not go to bed.

And of course, it is full of Roz Chast illustrations.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations took up the entire page and helped tell the story with though bubbles. Marco personified a little kid not wanting to go to bed. This was a good book to show that you can be anything you want to be. It was also a good book to show the importance of taking a few minutes to yourself.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too busy for bedtime. Fun little story with a parrot in need of sleep yet wanting to do many great things, right now.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why wouldn't any child love to stay up past bedtime? Some of the why nots are shown in this book by the wonderful author and illustrator Rox Chast!

[Anthony Faber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little kids' picture book. I'm not all that impressed, but a kid might like it.

[Jillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. I have Questions about the universe of the Marco books (as do many people, judging by the comments). I also just.... find him exhausting.