This book is a fun and hilarious story for children by Kevin Hart. Marcus is by no means a perfect MC which makes him all the more relatable and the lessons he learns while making a movie will resonate with children.

This was honestly a really sweet, silly, fun book. I loved how the relationships of the characters grew throughout the story. There was a lot of information about how to make a movie, which is great for readers that are interested in movie making, acting, script writing, etc. The art was wonderful and showed a lot of expression. I especially loved the closeness of Marcus and his father. The overall theme of dreaming big and believing in yourself was very well executed. I'm hoping Marcus and his friends will return in another adventure. This would be a good choice for readers that enjoy the My Life As... series, the Desmond Puckett series and the Wimpy Kid series.

Marcus Makes a Movie

I Picked Up This Book Because: it was written by Kevin Hart.

Media Type: eBook
Source: Netgalley
Dates Read: 8/14/21 - 9/6/21
Stars: 3 Stars

The Characters:

Marcus:

The Story:

This was very cute. The story line was great and I loved the humor. I loved that Marcus had flaws and I feel like he learned a lot during his time making his movie. I might have teared up a bit at the premiere.

The Random Thoughts:

Fantastic kid's book! My seven year old really enjoyed it. He said "two thumbs up!" I always like books that make my kid want to read more.

Marcus Makes a Movie is a fun read about film-making, friendship, and not quitting on your dreams. It’s definitely for the middle grade demographic. My son and I read it together and he loved it. He loved how the characters are so relatable and he loved the fact a book could make him laugh as if he was watching the tv. It is definitely a great read for children especially the ones that’s interested in the film making industry.

Comics obsessed Marcus is not thrilled to find himself in an afterschool program about filmmaking. Marcus soon warms to the idea of bringing one of his comic book characters to life in a film. He soon learns that making a movie is a lot different than making a comic. There’s a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes—and teamwork is a necessity. As the story progresses, readers learn about what is required to put together a movie and see how Marcus is able to overcome the challenges he encounters while building trust and relationships along the way. Middle grade readers will enjoy the humor in the story's events while absorbing the book's positive messages about teamwork and perseverance.

A wonderfully light-hearted tale of a boy discovering what it really takes to make a movie. Realistically written characters with illustrations that enhance the text.

Kevin Hart's warmth and humor exudes from this book. This fun filled, fast-paced inspirational story will resonate with kids, while teachers will love the emphasis on editing and revising work to take it from good to great. The only negative is the many grammatical errors to reflect the character's dialect. Regardless, this is a must purchase for libraries.

I love that Kevin Hart wrote a kids book. This book is funny and still appropriate for kids. I think the quick pace and humor will keep a young reader engaged.

4 stars = Great! Might re-read.

This is a lot of fun and has great "voice." The information about writing a screenplay (and writing in general) and making a movie is sound, but never heavy-handed. Marcus is a character you want to see learn and succeed. Some great humor here - you can really "hear" Kevin Hart in the writing. Don't miss this one!

Marcus Makes a Movie will appeal to kids who like the middle grade illustrated novel--along the lines of Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, etc. Hart's humor shines through as Marcus works through his dread of the afterschool film program and is able to make it his own. This will be an easy to promote title in my library.

This book was fun. We laughed a lot as we read it together. I would love to see more books by Kevin Hart. Quick and easy read.

Marcus Makes a Movie was fun and entertaining middle grade illustrated novel that revolved around Marcus turning his superhero comic into a movie and all the roadblocks he had to overcome. The story was about teamwork, friendship, film making, and not quitting on your dream.

Writing was entertaining, easy to follow and understand by kids. It was written from Marcus POV with beautiful pencil drawn illustrations that made story come to life. There were 2 or 3 drawings per chapter, making it more illustrated than a graphic novel.

It started with Marcus signing up for film making afternoon class as he wasn’t interested in nay other classes, not even art class in which teacher made him do other activities apart from drawing for comics. He wasn’t happy with film class and with a classmate with whom he had wrong start but once he got idea of turning his superhero Toothpick comic into movie there was no stopping him. Problem was he didn’t know a thing about film making, not even how to write a screenplay. So, he needed all help he could get, that classmate whom he couldn’t stand, teachers, other film class students and even bully of the school.

It was interesting to read how Marcus would learn to make movie, work with other students, what problems he would encounter while making movie and how he would overcome them.

I liked diverse, realistic and relatable characters. Marcus wasn’t likable character at first but we know the reason behind it as he started working on movie. He had so much angst, anger and behavioural issues, didn’t know how to work in team and how to keep his head cool while working with others. As he worked on his movie and with his classmates, and Sierra whose Zombie movie school was going to play for art cultural program, he learned many things. We see gradual development in him and how he became better person at the end.

I enjoyed Marcus’s growing friendship with Sierra. Sierra was smart and amazing with her people skill and knew a lot about film making. I loved how she offered to help Marcus putting aside their differences and even apologised him for wrong start even though it wasn’t entirely her fault.

What I loved most was information about film making. It was written in simple and fun way that kids would enjoy reading- How to write a screenplay, how first draft is always worst and how to correct them, how to work on plot holes, how important it is to have proper background, reasons, and meanings in story, techniques to use in movie with zero budget like, stop motion and Len Burds effect.

It was fun, amazing and really realistic to read how many problems Marcus encountered while making his film– rewriting, equipment, setting, problem with continuity, delays and inconveniences, and things we all fuss about putting it out there in world and not getting numbers/views. And this was all with zero budget! It was easy to think how hard it might really get on big budget movies.

I loved the message of not quitting no matter how many roadblocks you have to encounter, how many people say ‘no you cannot do it’, and how to keep up with hard work, at the end not forgetting purpose of doing something you love and enjoy it no matter what result you get.

End was uplifting and satisfying. I enjoyed how things turned out not just for Marcus but for all characters he worked with.

Overall, Marcus Makes a Movie was fun, refreshing, realistic and uplifting illustrated novel with interesting storyline and great message for kids. If you love middle grade or children’s fiction, concept of film making and great message to learn, I definitely recommend this book.

This book was absolutely hilarious! It was a great in-depth look at the ins and outs of movie making with lots of middle grade humor. Readers must pair it with the audiobook, Kevin Hart is a fantastic author and narrator. Fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate will enjoy this book.

Title - Marcus Makes a Movie

Author - Kevin Hart

Genre - Middle Grade

Received an e-arc from NetGalley. Thank you so much Penguin Books

Plot:

All Marcus dreams of everyday is to escape his bully and draw his comics where the main character is Toothpick based on him. He gets stuck in a movie-making afternoon class which is not something he was looking forward to. What he did not realise is how this course will bring him new friends and how he will be able to realise his dream albeit in a much bigger manner.

My thoughts on the book:

Honestly, I apparently realised which particular Kevin Hart is the author after I completed the book. I loved the actor's work but I was glad that did not influence me to love / hate the book. The plot is pretty straightforward here and one can easily spot the climax way early in the second half of the book. What was not expected was the slight twist that was brought at the end of the book which did made me increase the rating a notch higher.

Though the variating references to YouTube and many other stuff is a bit annoying but for the actual audience of the book, this would surely pique their curiosity. Also the larger picture on how to make a movie is pretty interesting and informative as well at times. A must read for anyone who loves a dash of comedy and a fun book. Also do not miss the illustrations which are equally fun.

My Ratings - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (5 out of 5 stars)

Kevin Hart's debut middle-grade book, Marcus Makes a Movie, is exactly what you would expect from a Kevin Hart book. First, you could basically read the entire book in Hart's voice in your head. If you're familiar with his stand up, then you are familiar with the cadence in which he tells jokes and stories. This book is no different. I loved that it shows kids the ins and outs of filmmaking, and it definitely has relatable messages for kids like on teamwork (even with people you don't think you like). The slang and made up websites like MeTube are relatable for young kids. I really think there is a lot of appeal for this book with students. It already has a big buy in just because of the author, but you throw in a diverse cast, good plot line, and character development? Gold. Hart is always a good storyteller, and this was no different! Definitely putting this in my classroom library!

Sooo cute. I love Kevin Hart and this book is so fun. It's definitely the better of the celebrity books that I've seen.

This book is interesting. I know that the author is a famous actor, however, I am not overly familiar with their work. Thus, I think I am approaching this book with a fresh perspective of someone that isn't necessarily influenced by the appeal of the author alone. Either way, this young reader's book is interesting because it is touching on something that kids are able to do nowadays more than ever: utilize technology to be creative.

"Making this movie won't be easy. But as Marcus discovers, nothing great ever is--and if you want your dream to come true, you've got to put in the hustle to make it happen."

I like the message this book sends. It was a great read and unique.

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Marcus attends an afternoon program at school while his father works, and he is struggling to find an activity to join. He's a big fan of drawing comics, but doesn't want to go to the art option and do things like origami and collage work. He ends up in the movie making program, hoping to be able to sit quietly and draw, but the exuberant college students won't let him. Not only that, but a girl who annoys him, Sierra, is in the program. The group has to vote on the movie they want to make, and Sierra, who attended a summer program on writing screenplays, has written a script for Phone Zombies. Marcus counters with his own idea to spite her, but doesn't have an actual screenplay for his superhero action comic, Toothpick, just his comic book. He's angry when his idea loses, but Sierra makes an effort to reach out, mend fences, and offer to help him with his film if he helps with hers. Marcus has recently experienced a serious loss, and some of his comic deals with this, although we don't find out all of the details until late in the story. Marcus learns a lot about film making and cooperating with others, and continues to work on Toothpick.
Strengths: I loved that this showed how much work it takes to make a film! There is one student who is in the program to improve her MeTube channel on makeup, and even that is seriously discussed. So many of my students want to be YouTube stars but have no real concept of what this would entail. Sierra is a fantastic character who is extremely understanding and works well with everyone, and it's great to see her take Marcus under her wing not only in regards to film making, but in interacting with others. I loved the portrayal of an after school program, and there are plenty of supportive people in Marcus' life to help him with his loss, including his father, who is supportive of Marcus' creative endeavors. The occasional illustrations will help this appeal to readers of notebook novels. The use of casual register is noticeable but done in a natural way; this is no small feat.
Weaknesses: The frequent self-referential nods to "Tevin Bart", as well as mentions of MeTube seemed odd to me, but younger readers will likely not notice. Marcus also started out as an angry, unlikeable character with some behavior issues, but we find out the reasons for this, and he does improve.
What I really think: This is an interesting and informative look at the ins and outs of making a film from people who have been through the process. Similar to Greenwald's Pete Milano's Guide to Being a Movie Star, but I liked that it was centered around an after school program instead of a film with celebrities. Definitely purchasing, although Rodkey's We're Not From Here was SO good that I wish he would write more books like that. I'm not sure how many of my students are familiar with Kevin Hart as an actor, but this book stands alone without that knowledge.