Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In one of two books kicking off the aptly (and wonderfully) named Disgusting Creatures series, Gravel (How Do You Doodle?) explores the long and short of worms, with a big emphasis on humor. A pink earthworm who is prone to shouting pops up repeatedly, at one point insisting, "I am not disgusting!" after Gravel describes his species as "basically a long digestive tract inside a muscle tube. It's that muscle tube that's slimy and disgusting." The boldly colored cartoons and handwritten display fonts make this a very appealing package, though the images can be at slight cross-purposes with the text (Gravel gives the friendly crew of worms eyes and smiley faces, even though readers learn halfway in that worms don't actually have eyes). But those idiosyncrasies in no way diminish the enjoyment of the book as Gravel tightrope-walks the line between gross and funny-as in a silhouetted image of a dog that shows two parasitic white worms sitting down to a meal in its belly. Says one, "Pass the salt, please!" Simultaneously available: The Fly. Ages 6-9. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-These easy-to-read entrants feature caricature-like cartoon illustrations that appealingly depict worms and flies. The brief text imparts information and is accompanied by chatty asides from the subjects ("I'll have the garbage juice soup for starters..." states a fly as it scans a restaurant menu, while an earthworm, after being told that humans use worms as bait and that some even enjoy eating them, protests, "Delicious? No, no, no!"). Readers will find these titles fun to peruse and will pick up some useful material on the subjects, along with a tasty soupcon of icky-ness.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
This humorous, informative volume gives basic facts about the title creature. Cartoon illustrations and speech-bubble text play up the kid-friendly silliness: "No eyes? That can't be true. I'm sure I had some eyes around here somewhere. " Unfortunately, the illustrations picture the worm's clittelum in the wrong place (it should be near the worm's anterior). (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
