Martha is terribly shy, so shy that she doesn't want to go to her new school and turns very red when her teacher asks her a question. She is sure she will never have any friends, but when new boy Brian turns out to be a bully, it is Martha who becomes very angry and stands up to him. Then she has plenty of friends. The story line is brief, but the real interest in the book comes from the many lift-the-flap and paper engineering pictures. They are cleverly thought-out and will appeal to the shyest child. They will, however, damage easily though quite sturdily made. Good for school - with supervision.