Susan Meddaugh - Leader of the Pack

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In the beginning... Martha was Helen's dog. She was an ordinary dog until... ...the day she ate alphabet soup. The letters in the soup traveled up to her brain instead of down to her stomach. That night Martha spoke: When's dinner? Steak is at the base of my food pyramid, along with alphabet soup.

Above that is just meat in general. Martha had a lot to tell her family. Have you heard the one about the cat who walks into a pet shop and orders a can of dog food... Martha just loved to talk. Good dog, Skits! Woof! And talk... Hello, world! I'm Martha and I'm talking to you! Is the world ready for Martha?

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WGBH Copyright 2010 WGBH Educational Foundation and Susan Meddaugh.
"MARTHA" and all characters and underlying materials (including artwork)
from the "MARTHA" books are trademarks of and copyrights of Susan
Meddaugh and used under license.

All other characters and underlying
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MARTHA SPEAKSTM
Leader of the Pack Adaptation by Emily Flaschner Meyer
Based on the TV series teleplay written by Ken Scarborough
Based on the characters created by Susan Meddaugh Houghton Mifflin Books for Children Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Boston New York 2010 "I think dogs should get an allowance," Martha said one day as she walked into Helen's room. "But Dad says no. I do chores.

I clean up all the food that falls on the floor. What do you think?" Helen wasn't paying attention. She was busy doing homework. It's so unfair! What are you drawing? "It's a family tree," Helen said. "It shows all your relatives and how they're related." "Ooh, ooh!" Martha cried. Woof? Martha was upset. "First no allowance," she said to Skits, "and now we're not even included as part of Helen's family tree! Where's our family tree?" Then Martha thought of someone who might know. Martha and Skits went to see Kazuo, their friend from the animal shelter. "You have a very interesting family tree," he told Martha and Skits. "I can show you your ancestors at the natural history museum." At the museum Kazuo showed them a video about wolf packs, groups of wolves that live and hunt together. "You are both descendants of wolves," he told them. "You are both descendants of wolves," he told them.

Martha was very excited. "We don't need to be part of Helen's family tree!" she told Skits. "We can live like our ancestors, the wolves. It's time to find our own pack!" Just then two neighborhood dogs ran by. I've got an idea... "Forget your lives as pets," she told them. "From now on, we're a packa familyjust like our wolf relatives. "From now on, we're a packa familyjust like our wolf relatives.

What is the first thing we do as a pack?" We prowl for food! The three dogs raced away. Martha found them at home in front of the refrigerator. "No, no, no!" she exclaimed. "We're not pets anymore. We're a pack. "This is where we prowl for food," Martha whispered. "Our ancestors worked together to hunt for their dinner." Look! Squirrels! Martha chased two squirrels up a tree. "Our ancestors worked together to hunt for their dinner." Look! Squirrels! Martha chased two squirrels up a tree.

She tried to explain things to them. "We're the hunters ... and you're the prey," she said. "Our job is to eat you." The squirrels' response was not surprising. "Well," Martha said later that night, "one acorn isn't bad for our first hunt as a pack!" But Cisco had a better idea for dinner. Across town a can was being opened.

He ran home, leaving the pack behind. "We're still a pack," Martha declared. "Look! Here's a perfect log for our wolf den." Burt looked at the damp hollow log. He thought about his cozy bed at home. Then he too ran off. "We're still a pack, right?" But it was Wednesday, and Skits's favorite television show was on. "I can be my own pack," Martha muttered. "I can be my own pack," Martha muttered.

Suddenly she heard something moving in a nearby clearing. Her wolflike instincts kicked in. The lone hunter spots her unknowing prey. Martha crept closer to the clearing. Dinner! she thought. She was very hungry.

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