School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4Another winner from Kline. Mary Maroney is a second grader who stutters at times. Her class has just finished reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Mrs. Bird is re-creating the golden-ticket portion of the story. The five children who find tickets in their chocolate bars will be treated to a pizza party, and Mary is determined not to let Marvin, who is disruptive and makes fun of the teacher, spoil classroom activities again. In the process, however, she must deal with a guilty conscience about cheating. The spare ink sketches carry the plot effectively for these realistic characters. Kline's fans will find this beginning chapter book a satisfying, natural extension of Mary Marony and the Snake (Putnam, 1992).Christina Dorr, Calcium Primary School, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Inspired by Roald Dahl's famous story about Charlie, Mary's teacher puts five gold tickets in a batch of chocolate bars for the class, entitling five lucky students to a pizza lunch. To stop the class clown from ruining the lunch, Mary secretly switches her ticketless bar with his winning one but feels guilty afterward. This fourth chapter book about Mary is predictable but energetic. From HORN BOOK 1995, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 2^-4. One of Kline's best, this sprightly chapter book packages an important message in a sweet, simple story. Mary Marony desperately wants to be one of the five lucky students to find a golden ticket in one of the chocolate bars Mrs. Bird is using for a classroom game based on the story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When some unauthorized peeks reveal that obstreperous Marvin, whom Mary dislikes, is set to win, Mary makes a chocolate bar exchange. As luck would have it, though, her winning is tarnished by her dishonesty, leaving her wondering whether cheating is sometimes OK or always wrong. The dialogue is spunky, the situation and characters seem quite believable, and the humor and neat twist at the end add special glitter to the goings-on. Illustrations by Blanche Sims (seen only in galley) are chockablock with their own brand of lighthearted fun. --Stephanie Zvirin