The Books

Marco Goes to School

by Roz Chast

One Potato Review

School really doesn’t stand a chance. Sitting in the back seat with Marco, his head bursting with questions – “How much does the moon weigh? Do trees think? Will I ever ride a giraffe? Why do I like marshmallows so, so much?” – is like bringing a fire hose to a water balloon fight. Sure enough, Marco spots a toy astronaut sitting high on top of a book shelf while the teacher is delivering her lesson, and pretty soon he’s imagining a block pile to outer space. “Monday Tuesday Chewsday Chumday Humday Doo-Dah Day,” continues the unstoppable Mrs. Peachtree – or at least that is how she sounds to poor Marco, and we haven’t even made it to nap time yet. The book jacket copy describes this as being about the friends we meet along the way – the usual marketing baloney as Marco is almost certainly never coming back, and his classmates look worrisomely old enough they’re probably never moving on. Which isn’t to argue the benefits of truancy, still here is conceivably a welcoming rest stop on our highway of super achievement.

Related Blog Entries