Bug sandwich

A bug-bitten boy believes revenge is a dish best served between two slices of bread in this raucous examination of the world of backyard insects. Running and hiding--even underwater or in outer space--doesn't stop the steady buzz of bites and stings plaguing this picture book's protagonist, so the boy decides he'll sink his teeth into his tormentors via his own recipe for a bug sandwich ("You bite me, and I'm gonna have to bite you back"). But as he gathers the flying, crawling, buzzing ingredients in a jar, he notices each insect's special qualities, from ants' superstrength to bees' intricate hive-building. A sandwich slap-together follows, but just as he's about to chow down, the boy pauses to listen to the bugs' arguments for a reprieve. Boldly hued, animation-style artwork from Smith (You're Missing It!) stylistically blends patterns and electric hues. Speech bubbles stemming from the protagonist, portrayed with light skin and vibrant orange hair, and from various insects provide funny asides alongside upbeat text. Kinetic scenes of the boy's bug-catching adventures, the bugs' intricate coloration, and notes of mild gross-out humor should prove appealing to insect admirers and detractors alike. Ages 3--7. (May)

A boy battles bugs. Bugs won't leave this child alone. To avoid them--and their bites--he goes to extremes, covering himself in mud, hiding out in his bathtub, and even heading for outer space. But nothing works. Finally, the boy decides to catch the creatures in a jar and "bite those bugs back"--by making them into a sandwich. Squished between two slices of white bread, the bugs ask why; he replies that their bites are annoying. "We're annoying?" "What about you? You swat us!" The boy has second thoughts, and it looks as though the bugs are safe…although there's a fun twist in store that will have readers wondering what they'd do if they unknowingly bit into a bug sandwich. The hilariously over-the-top story will earn giggles and nods of recognition from the bug averse. With loud colors (the boy has purplish-pink skin and orange hair) and a zany, chaotic tone, the cartoon art is delightful. A page on which tall yellow block letters spell out the word AHHHH! as a mosaic of colorful bugs, together forming a huge, ravenous insect, fly after the boy will have many readers transfixed. Readers may even come away appreciative of bugs, too--one page shows the boy staring admiringly at bees as they create a hive and at a spider as it weaves a web and catches a mosquito. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A goofy premise that works. (Picture book. 4-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.