''Martha Speaks'' is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Susan Meddaugh, published by Houghton Mifflin in 1992. It is the first in a series of six books featuring a young girl's pet dog named Martha.

Plot

The book follows the adventures of the dog Martha, who could speak after being fed

alphabet soup Alphabet soup may refer to: *A common dish made from alphabet pasta *Alphabet soup (linguistics), a metaphor for an abundance of abbreviations or acronyms * Alphabet Soup (ultimate frisbee), a mixed European ultimate frisbee team *Alphabet Soup (ho ...

. The family complains about Martha being talkative, and she stops eating her soup. Then, when a burglar breaks into her house, Martha was unable to call for help. When the burglar gives her alphabet soup, Martha calls the police and the family appreciates her for speaking again.

Reception

The Horn Book Magazine ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...

said the book was "Good-natured and amusing, with cheerful illustrations" and Patricia Tauzer writing for

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

wrote in a four star (out of five) review that, "the story is clever."

In popular culture

*Prior to an adaptation into a TV series of the same name in 2008, the book was featured on an episode of ''

Reading Rainbow ''Reading Rainbow'' is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterwards PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 3 ...

'', and was also featured (but not read) on an episode of ''

Kino's Storytime ''Kino's Storytime'', also known as ''Storytime'', is an American children's reading television program which aired on PBS from October 12, 1992 until September 1, 1997. It was produced by KCET in Los Angeles, California. It was available on VHS ...

''.

References

{{reflist 1992 children's books American picture books Books about dogs Talking animals in fiction Houghton Mifflin books