The Glowworm Who Lost Her Glow. (Blue Go Bananas). William Bedford. Illustrated by Sophie Joyce. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2006. 48 pp., pbk. & cl., $7.16 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB). ISBN 0-7787-2652-5 (pbk.), ISBN 0-7787-2630-4 (RLB). Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Tanya Boudreau. **** /4

excerpt:

Georgina sighed and went on searching. She saw a rooster strutting on top of a farmhouse, its beautiful tail gleaming in the sunlight like a waterfall of feathers. She saw a pheasant scurrying across the grass, like a ball of fire shining in the sun.

Yes! Glowworms are a REAL source of light! And did you know boy glowworms don’t glow?? I know; you are probably wondering how and why a glowworm would lose its glow. I asked myself this same question when I picked up this book from the “Blue Go Bananas” series. As I open the book to discover why, I see glowworms hovering among the grasses. The pink glowworms are girls; the boys blue. The girls are lighting up the darkness surrounding them. It’s a good thing the girls glow or the boys wouldn’t be able to see them. You see, the boy glowworms are chasing the girl glowworms. Georgina glowworm is sad because she lost her ability to glow. She’s mourning the loss of potential friends. Blackbird only knows how to fly, and so he’s no help to Georgina who is questioning everyone she meets as to the whereabouts of her glow. The light-shunning mole and the angry weasel are no help to her either. However, on Georgina’s quest for her glow, she sees that tears glow; dewdrops glow; beaks glow; and stars glow. Actually, something is glowing or reflecting light on every page. Something glowing in the story makes her gasp though. She sighs at the beauty of it. She is lured to the farm by the glow. While at the farm, Georgina sees how light is used on the farm at night. Georgina, the glowless glowworm, is knocked out of her gloomy mood—literally—when Samuel glowworm crashes into her. He has quite the effect on her, as you’ll see when he invites her to the farm party.

     The attention to detail is quite something. Green, curly, ribbony vines wrap around thin branching twigs. Varieties of greenery stick up out of the pond. The animals are drawn plump and round. Life in the dark looks cozy and safe. Go back and look carefully. You probably missed something living in the dark. Extras in the back of the book include two pages of light versus darkness. Children learn facts about the biggest source of light (the sun) and “littler” sources of light (like the glowworms). There is an identification game explained; directions on how to make your own rainbow; a paragraph on reflection; but most appealing to me...how to make your own DISCO BALL! Who knew a potato had that potential!

Highly Recommended

Tanya Boudreau is a Youth Services Librarian and Resource Librarian at the Cold Lake Public Library in Cold Lake, AB.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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