BUG GIRL

In this sequel to Bug Boy (1997), Charlie is still obsessed with insects, and is using his magic Bug-A-View with enthusiastic abandon, despite its obvious dangers, to transform himself into a variety of bugs. When he decides to tell his best friend, Suzanne, about it, her reaction is not what he’d expected; she is horrified at the danger and wants no part of it. But when Charlie, as a beetle, is captured and about to be killed and pinned, Suzanne turns herself into an ant to rescue him. This lacks the freshness of the original, but has all the action and suspense, with the nice addition of the girl’s rescue of a boy, for a change, through bravery and physical strength. Charlie’s reckless and thoughtless use of his magical toy is wearing; readers will welcome Suzanne’s decision to bury the Bug-A-View at the end. The cartoon illustrations keep pace with the text, especially the cover illustration, which appears to be Suzanne’s first horrified moments as an ant. (Fiction. 8-12)