The first page of this easy reader sets the tone for a very funny story narrated by an unnamed boy whose entomologist mother works at a complex of scientific research labs, working with insects in the bug lab. “She studies dung beetles. They eat animal poop!” (What second-grader could resist that?) This cool scientist-Mom also has a large pet cockroach named Max (a Madagascan hissing cockroach, as we learn in the author’s biographical note) that she keeps in her lab. The narrator and his brother are visiting the science labs to attend a special dedication ceremony when Max, the cockroach, escapes from his glass tank. The two boys manage to trap him with the help of Ruby L. Gold, the benefactor of the science labs, a gray-haired older lady who is most definitely not afraid of bugs (or boisterous little boys, either). The positive images of women are just one commendable aspect of this story, written at the 2.1 reading level, with short sentences, large type, and plenty of white space surrounding the text (which is divided into short chapters). Holub’s (Why Do Dogs Bark, p. 110, etc.) watercolor, acrylic, and gouache paintings add to the humor, especially her illustrations of the buggy-eyed Max. Horowitz (Crab Moon, 2000, etc.) injects lots of droll wit and sly puns into the tale, along with interesting bits of information about insects and scientific work. New readers will enjoy this on their own, but the story will also work well as a read-aloud in first- and second-grade classrooms. (Easy reader. 6-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8037-2510-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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