Arthur's Computer Disaster: An Arthur Adventure

Arthur Adventure Series

by Marc Brown

Arthur loves playing games on his mother's computer, but when he uses it without permission, chaos ensues. Arthur and his cohorts search desperately for a solution, and in the process learn a lesson about following rules and respecting others. Text copyright 2004 Lectorum Publications, Inc.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, 1st Grade, Family, Humor

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Marc Tolon Brown is perhaps best known for his series of children's books about Arthur the aardvark, which was turned into an animated television show on PBS. Brown is a three-time Emmy Award winner, for his role on the television show inspired by his books.

He lives on Martha's Vineyard and in New York City with his wife, Laurie Krasny Brown. He has three children, sons Tolon and Tucker, and daughter Eliza. The names of his two sons have been hidden in all of the Arthur books except for one: Arthur's Tooth.

Reviews

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like a few other late installments in the Arthur Adventure book series, Arthur's Computer Disaster was originally an episode of the PBS animated television show; Marc Brown adapted Joe Fallon's teleplay into this book about a year after "Arthur the Wrecker" made its television debut October 24, 1996. Arthur is excited about the newest gaming fad: Deep, Dark Sea is a virtual quest to the bottom of the sea in search of sunken treasure, and Arthur is glad when his mother grants him permission to play it on her computer. Legend says that in the game's final level, you find the thing, a discovery that dwarfs all others to that point. But in real life, tax season is at hand, and Mom is going to need the computer all day, every day for the near future. Arthur is frustrated, especially when Mom leaves the house for a while and tells him not to play on the computer because she'll need it right away when she returns. It won't hurt to boot up the game for a few minutes, right? Just to give his friend Buster a quick tour?

Everything goes to plan until Arthur spots the treasure chest at the bottom of the screen. This must be the thing! Overeager, he and Buster fight over the input device and knock the keyboard off the table. Uh-oh...the computer stops working, and Mom will be home soon. What if the computer is permanently wrecked, during tax season? Maybe Arthur and Buster can convince their friend Brain to hurry over and fix it, or a computer professional can run a diagnostic and repair the problem. No luck? Then it might be time for Arthur to admit his disobedience and accept punishment. Is the computer salvageable? Will Arthur ever have opportunity to revisit Deep, Dark Sea and discover the thing?

In some ways this book is better than the television episode. Mom is much clearer about telling Arthur not to play on the computer; in the episode, her "orders" are ambiguous at best, so it always confused me why Arthur reacted as though Mom expressly told him to refrain from playing Deep, Dark Sea while she went out to the office. Marc Brown's warm, homey illustrations also commend this book ahead of the episode. On the other hand, the episode makes it clearer that the computer screen went blank and won't turn on again after Arthur and Buster knocked the keyboard off the desk. Arthur's Computer Disaster is less charming than the early Arthur Adventure books, but I'm fond of this story because it's the first episode I saw of the PBS show. Whether you originally loved the books or the animated series, I think you'll enjoy Arthur's Computer Disaster.

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now as you have all noticed, my bookshelf is filled up with dozens of “Arthur” books since I am a huge fan of the series! “Arthur’s Computer Disaster” is about how Arthur wanted to play a computer game while his mother is away, but then gets into big trouble when he accidentally breaks his mom’s computer. “Arthur’s Computer Disaster” is one of Marc Brown’s most hilarious “Arthur” books ever created!

One day, Arthur was begging his mom to let him play “Deep, Dark Sea” on her computer and his mother let him play the game. The next day, Arthur wanted to use the computer to play the rest of the game, but his mother told him to not use the computer since she has to use the computer to do her taxes. However, when Arthur’s mother had to run back to the office that day, Arthur and Buster played with Arthur’s mother’s computer anyway. But when Arthur and Buster played with the computer too much, they ended up knocking the keyboard to the ground the screen went blank!

Marc Brown never ceases to amaze me with his lovable characters in the “Arthur” series. This time, Marc Brown has done an excellent job at writing this story as he explains the importance of listening to your parents and the consequences of not listening to your parents’ warnings. I love the way that Marc Brown shows the consequences that Arthur has to face when he disobeys his mother and that will help show children about the consequences of disobedience. Marc Brown’s illustrations are as always highly creative as the characters have animal heads and human bodies and I loved the expressions on the characters’ faces especially of Arthur’s scared expression when he accidentally breaks his mother’s computer.

Overall, “Arthur’s Computer Disaster” is a brilliant book for children who need to know about the consequences of disobedience while having a great time with Arthur and the gang! I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book (but when you really think about it, the “Arthur” series is pretty kid-friendly overall).

[Fatimah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ik im too old for this book, but its honestly so fun to read kids books. Anyways, it was fun to read this and its interesting so that’s why i gave it a 5 stars

[Jamie Winslow · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story Arthur loves to play his Deep Dark Sea computer game. His mother tells him not to play the game because she needs the computer for work. When she is gone Arthur and his friend Buster start to play the game anyways. Something went wrong and Arthur thought he broke the computer. Him, Buster and D. W. went out to find ways to try and fix the computer before their mother got home and figured out that Arthur disobeyed orders. They were out of luck and when their mother came home Arthur confessed what he had done when his mother went in to use the computer. She said it was a simple problem and she knew how to fix it but she was still disappointed in Arthur for disobeying. He was grounded for computer games for a week and him and his sister had to go get ready for bed. When they were waiting for their mother to come tuck them in they discovered that she was playing the video game and liked it as much as Arthur did and could not stop playing so the kids went on to bed.

[Karissa Crofoot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would classify this book as fiction, more specifically contemporary Realistic Fiction. The reason I chose to read this book was that I have always loved the Arthur series both on PBS and in written format. This book teaches kids the lessons of listening to your parents and asking for help when you need it. The story is about Arthur who is very invested in a new computer game. He is constantly asking to play it and is told yes most of the time but on one occasion he's told no. Despite being told no he still plays the game. After getting invested in the game, he drops the keyboard and thinks that he breaks the computer. Overall, highly recommend this series always got me to read more and always had a moral or life lesson tied into the story. Recommend it to any child that likes to watch their favorite characters come alive on TV.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Video game addiction on the horizon for little Arthur, playing "Deep, Dark Sea. The kid's in his pyjamas and you can see his matching bunny slippers.

(Surreal! Ever notice how animals in kid's books aren't just stand-ins for humans but they're perfectly comfortable wearing slippers made to look like other kinds of animal?)

Yet the story progresses delightfully. I'm especially partial to D.W.'s fear that, among the terrible things that could happen at this point in the plot, "we'll all get ammonia and probably die."

Definitely look out for the hilarious plot twist on the last two pages.

[Nichole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great lesson on listening to your parents AND knowing when/ how to talk to your parents when something is wrong. Arthur gets a new video game and wants to play it constantly. He plays with it when he's not supposed to and it breaks. He and Buster go through all sorts of problem solving issues to try and fix it before mom comes home and needs the computer again. The computer pictured is exceptionally outdated and might keep kids from pulling it off the shelf, but the lesson hods up today-- it's not about tech, it's about admitting when you're wrong.

[Megan Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brought me straight back to my childhood. It is about Arthur, who is playing a game on his mom's computer. She tells him not to because she has to work on it for her job. He plays anyways and breaks the computer. It turns out that his mom only had to jiggle the switch a little bit, and everything turned out fine (with the exception of getting punished of course). This story would be great for a lesson on following directions and listening to your parents.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur has a new computer game he's obsessed with. The problem? Getting enough time on the family computer to play it. When Arthur disobeys and uses the computer when he's not supposed to, and something goes wrong, it becomes time to panic. Arthur seeks help from his friends, when he should have just talked to his mom all along.

Real issue, real solution. I liked it. The ending too, had a nice (and very believable) twist. I don't feel called out at all...

[Amanda Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always been a fan of the Arthur series, and watched it all the time on PBS as a child. The illustrations are neat, characters are fun, and the books always have a good lesson within them. This one particularly shows the importance of listening to your parents and that there are consequences for not doing the right thing. Great for the classroom.

[Asho · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book amused me, mostly because it's already so dated. Who uses a desktop computer? My 6-year-old is a fan of Arthur so he enjoyed this. We did have a good discussion about not messing with mom's computer and what a bad idea that would be. I had the same reaction I have to most TV tie-in books, which was "meh".

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arthur loves playing games on his mother's computer but using it without permission creates chaos - in trying to figure out how to fix his problems he learns a lesson about following rules and respecting others property. He also shows us what NOT to do on a computer also shows the starting point of using computers! The illustrations help to add to the pure enjoyment of the book!

[Kaelin Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. Arthur is a good book series, and it always was. I used to watch the show all the time as a child on the PBS kids channel. It teaches lessons about life and that's great for children.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book teaches kids the value of doing what your parent says and also teaches the importance if admitting and asking fir help when you do something wrong.

[Abby Stopka · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fun book Kama leads us through Arthur and not listening to his parents and running the computer.

[Andrew Dittmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did a diorama book report of this book in first grade.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book about obeying your parents

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️s

[Nakia's Hideaway]

So far this is my favorite of the Arthur Adventures books that I've read. The ending really worked for me in this one, whereas in the other ones I've read the ending is where it usually falls flat.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Arthur's Mom tells him not to play a game on the computer because she needs the computer for work. When she is gone Arthur and his friend Buster start to play the game anyways. Something went wrong and Arthur thought he broke the computer. Him, Buster and D. W. went out to find ways to try and fix the computer before their Mom got home. They couldn't figure it out and when their Mom came home Arthur confessed what he had done. She said it was a simple problem and she knew how to fix it but she was still disappointed in Arthur for disobeying. He was grounded for computer games for a week and him and his sister had to go get ready for bed. When they were waiting for their mother to come tuck them in they discovered that she was playing the video game and liked it as much as Arthur did and could not stop playing so the kids went on to bed.

I do like how his Mom punished Arthur, but I don't like how she didn't tuck them into bed because she was sucked into playing a computer game.
I think she should have stopped long enough to say goodnight.

[Danielle Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book can be something seen in our daily lives as children. This book directly relates to some parts of everyone's childhoods. We have all had that time when we were not supposed to touch or do something at home, and mom and dad tell us not to do it. In this story, Arthur, Buster, and DW are told not to touch the computer to play Deep, Dark Sea, but Arthur disobeys. They try to fix it, but they cannot. This leads to Arthur having to admit to his mom what happened. This book teaches children that obeying and respecting your mom and dad is a big thing in life. The book relates this message to children in a creative way.

[Chelsea Bucci · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story teaches kids the importance of listening to their parents. Arthur's mom told him not to touch the computer all day. However, he really wanted to play his computer game. Arthur and Buster end up breaking the keyboard to the computer. They try every possible way to fix the keyboard from asking their friend Buster to going to a computer store to have it professional fixed. Artur finally admits to his mom after dinner that he broke it. He then gets punished for disobeying what his mother told him.

[Carman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur uses the computer to play a game when he is not supposed to. Arthur then "breaks" the computer. Arther stresses himself out trying to fix the computer and then he finally comes clean to his mother about what he has done. This book does a good job of showing how it is important to admit our mistakes as well as the forgiving nature of parents.I would use this book to help illustrate taking responsibility for one's actions and choices in the classroom.

[Ealthafer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everyone knows Arthur and all his friends! This book is a good for readers who are jsut beginning longer books. Students like the story because they know Arthur and all the other characters in the story. The words used in the story are easy for the most part and the "trickier" words can be easily sounded out.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Arthur book deals with solving problems and listening to your parents. Arthur goes onto the computer, even though he is not allowed, and believes that he breaks it. In the end, the computer is fine, but Arthur is still punished for lying about being on the computer and going on in the first place.

[Jessica Vu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be good for predicting. There are several great spots to stop and predict what will happen next
(Sebin's lesson) put STOP bookmarks in book for students to know it's time to stop and I'll out worksheet on I wonder...prediction

Good lesson on honesty and obeying

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a huge fan of the television series, I was greatly disappointed at the lazy and sub-par writing of the books. The illustrations are very poorly done as well (especially if you have older editions of the books). Not good. just watch the show; it's on at seven on PBS every morning.

[Angie Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to use to help children talk about obedience and consequences. The children really relate to Arthur and the events in the book.

[Christa♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked arthur books, my fav character was buster.

[Eliza · Rating 5 out of 5]

don't get to envolved in a computer game