WORM ON THE JOB

An ambitious invertebrate uses his unique talents to prove himself at his new job.

Reclining in an open book, Worm lets out a sigh—he is bored. Having served as the head librarian for a long time, Worm has read everything in the library, and he is ready for an exciting new career. After trying a handful of jobs that end up being too dangerous for a worm, he comes across a posting for a security guard at the convention center, where inventions have been going missing. The human manager who interviews him is skeptical: “You’re three inches long,” he points out. “Also, you’re a worm.” But Worm makes his case (he’s capable of disguising himself as a hair tie or a pretzel, he can transform “kitchen scraps into valuable fertilizer,” and he’s “extremely stretchy”). Worm is hired! And when he encounters the thief, he’s underestimated yet again, but his creative abilities (and stretchiness) turn out to be useful. Fergus’ tongue-in-cheek dialogue and narration are an ideal match for Hammond’s exaggerated, energetic cartoon artwork; the illustrator wrings maximum humor and pathos from big-eyed, bushy-browed Worm as he persists in the face of failure (time spent in the sun during his turn as a lifeguard leaves him a dried-out mess) and ultimately triumphs. The manager and the thief are pale-skinned; other human characters vary in skin tone.

A winsome underdog story, starring a protagonist certain to worm his way into readers’ hearts.