________________ CM . . . . Volume XX Number 22. . . .February 7, 2014

cover

The Worm. (Disgusting Critters).

Elise Gravel.
Toronto. ON: Tundra Books, 2014.
32 pp., hardcover, $12.99.
ISBN 978-1-77049-633-0.

Subject Heading:
Worms-Juvenile literature.

Grades 1-2 / Ages 6-7.

Review by Kaitlyn Vardy.

***½ /4

   

excerpt:

Worms have been on earth for millions or years! Maybe even billions! Biologists believe they evolved with the dinosaurs. (Note: The text is accompanied by an illustration of old earthworm in rocking chair, saying, “Back in my days, kids respected earthworms.”)

 

The Worm is part of the new humorous nonfiction “Disgusting Critters” series. While reading The Worm, children will discover fascinating facts, including: the different types of worms (earthworm, tapeworm, flat worm, white worm, and the maggot), their diet (earthworms eat rotting plants and enrich the soil by making paths that let air and water circulate in it), and their habitats (some live in water, plants, animals, or humans). This is a good early reader introduction to nonfiction books, and, due to the interactive illustrations, this book could be well suited in a story time setting. Throughout the book, the page layout consists of factual information in conjunction with interactive and humorous illustrations of talking worms. Although The Worm is a nonfiction title, there is no index or glossary, but, due to its brevity, neither is really needed.

internal art     Author Elise Gravel completed her studies in graphic design. Readers are sure to be thrilled that Gravel has written and illustrated this book as the mix of facts and humorous illustrations are wonderfully done. Gravel has written and illustrated many children’s books in both French and English, and she won the Governor General’s Literary Award for illustration in 2012 for her book La clé à molette.

     Other titles in Gravel’s “Disgusting Critters” series, to be released in 2014, include The Fly, The Rat, and The Slug.

Highly Recommended.

Kaitlyn Vardy is a Children’s Librarian at the Prince George Public Library in Prince George, BC.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
Hosted by the University of Manitoba.
 

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