Happy summer! School is out for most kids and teachers in the U.S., but young insects have a lot to learn. Take a look at David L. Harrison's Crawly School for Bugs: Poems to Drive You Buggy to see what school might be like for ticks, termites, mosquitoes, and other insects. Imaginative, informative, and laugh-out-loud funny, the poems might make you think twice before grabbing the can of Raid.
Julie Bayless enhances the humor with her illustrations, characterizing scenes and caricaturizing the bugs. My favorite is the spread that accompanies "What's Left of Termite Class," which shows termites in classroom mayhem. (Use the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon to see it and other illustrations.)
Harrison's well-crafted poems have perfect rhythm and rhyme to make for fun reading out loud, with worthy punchlines at the end to amp up the humor. One of my favorites is "Stink Bug Class."
"Smell that smell?"
complained a kid.
At first we didn't,
then we did!"
I don't want to give away the rest, but this poem strikes me as one that kids will relate to.
I love the summer sun and fun, but when bugs start swarming? Not so much. This book helps me look at bugs in a whole new way!
Jane, thank you! I appreciate your review of my new book and hope other readers will enjoy my bugs this summer (and beyond) too!
ReplyDeleteYou are certainly welcome, David. Thanks for the laughs!
DeleteI hadn't seen this poem, so thanks for sharing, Jane. (The tick poem David shared on his blog was hilarious!) I've told our librarian about the book, so hopefully they'll order it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I love the tick one, too, Matt! Thanks for stopping by and for sharing the book info!
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