Arthur Series

by Marc Brown

What would my childhood be without the lovable 3rd grade aardvark? Arthur starts as a brand new 3rd grader, newly assigned to the meanest teacher in school.  This teacher is a slave driver, so the kids think.  From the first adventure on through, Arthur learns his teacher pushes him because of the potential of each student.  Is there more to Arthur and his friends than even they know?

Audience

About 2nd grade.  Kinder is too young to understand some of the conflicts, and 1st graders may or may not be interested.

What I Love About These Books

1) Diversity.  I'm not talking about skin color, this goes deeper.  We have all sorts of family structures, different financial structures, people from different places in the world.  Basically, it's your average classroom-every child is coming from a completely different place.

2) Adults.  I love that the adults aren't stupid.  Sometimes they let the kids make their own mistakes, but they know what's going on.
3) I felt most of the problems were real, down to earth issues.  We have a shy student, someone moving away, friendships changing, sibling conflict.  These are all things I see nearly every day in a classroom full of children Arthur's age.

Cautions
1) The books do get formulaic after a while.  I still like them, but they all read pretty much the same
2) I haven't read all of them.  There are soooo many!

Series

• 1976 - Arthur's Nose
• 1979 - Arthur's Eyes
• 1980 - Arthur's Valentine
• 1981 - ''Arthur and the True Francine''
• 1982 - Arthur Goes to Camp
• 1982 - Arthur's Halloween
• 1983 - Arthur's April Fool
• 1983 - Arthur's Thanksgiving
• 1984 - Arthur's Christmas
• 1985 - Arthur's Tooth
• 1986 - Arthur's Teacher Trouble
• 1987 - Arthur's Baby
• 1989 - Arthur's Birthday
• 1990 - Arthur's Pet Business
• 1991 - Arthur Meets the President
• 1992 - Arthur Babysits
• 1993 - Arthur's Family Vacation
• 1993 - Arthur's New Puppy
• 1994 - Arthur's First Sleepover
• 1994 - Arthur's Chicken Pox
• 1995 - Arthur's TV Trouble
• 1996 - Arthur Writes a Story
• 1996 - Arthur's Reading Race
• 1997 - Arthur's Computer Disaster
• 1998 - Arthur Lost and Found
• 1999 - Arthur's Underwear
• 2000 - Arthur's Teacher Moves In
• 2000 - Arthur's Perfect Christmas
• 2002 - Arthur, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
• 2006 - Arthur Jumps into Fall
• 2011 - Arthur Turns Green

• Chapter Books

  • Arthur and the Mystery Envelope
  • Arthur and the Double Dare
  • Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest
  • Arthur and the Cootie-Catcher
  • King Arthur
  • Arthur and the Big Blow-up
  • Arthur and the Scare-your-pants-off Club
  • Arthur and the Lost Diary
  • Arthur and the 1001 Dads
  • Arthur and the Perfect Brother
  • Arthur rocks with Binky'
  • Arthur and the Nerves of Steal
  • Arthur and the Poetry Contest
  • Arthur and the Popularity Test
  • Arthur Accused!
  • Arthur Loses His Marbles
  • Arthur Makes the Team
  • Arthur and the Comet Crisis
  • Buster Baxter, Cat Saver
  • Buster Makes the Grade
  • Buster's Dino Dilemma
  • Muffy's Secret Admirer
  • Francine, Believe It or Not
  • Francine the Superstar
  • "The Poetry Contest"
  • The Mystery of the Stolen Bike
  • Locked in the Library
  • Who's in Love with Arthur?
  • BINKY RULES

  [edit]Good Sports Chapter Books

  • Arthur Race to Read
  • Arthur and the Best Coach Ever
  • Arthur and the Goalie Ghost
  • Arthur and the Pen-Pal Playoff
  • Arthur and the Recess Rookie
  • Arthur and the Seventh Inning Stretcher
  • Arthur and the Poetry Contest