They Didn't Teach This in Worm School - a review

They Didn't Teach This in Worm School! : One Worm's Tale of Survival
by Simone Lia

The publisher's description accurately captures the spirit of this book.

A hungry chicken (who thinks he’s a flamingo) and a quick-thinking worm set off on a madcap adventure — and forge an unlikely friendship.

Published first in the UK, it has a definite feel of British humor, which I enjoy.  I often think that we, as Americans, take ourselves too seriously.  Canadians and Brits definitely have a quirkier funny bone, and it is on full display in They Didn't Teach This in Worm School.  When Marcus and Laurence set off on their adventure, the goal is to find Africa so that Laurence can unite with his "fellow" flamingos.  Along the way, they become convinced that they've found France because of the many "Eiffel Towers" that they encounter.

Source: OpenClipart

Marcus and Laurence take this all in stride, even the fact that no one in "France" seems to speak French.  Things go poorly and, aided by some local worms, they narrowly escape with their lives, prompting Marcus to remark,

     I was really glad to have met these French worms.
     They were really kind and helpful.
     I liked them, even though they were weirdos.

Their adventures continue in a similar zany vein until eventually, all is sorted out, and the two have become fast friends despite their disparate interests.

My Advance Reader Copy was of one color, but the finished book with have two-color illustrations like this sample page:

Every page is illustrated to some degree, and there are occasional double-spread images throughout. Simone Lia's illustrations bear some resemblance to those of Sara Varon, but have more straight-up humor and none of Varos' pathos.

They Didn't Teach This in Worm School is a perfect choice for readers with a quirky sense of humor who won't mind a rather heavy-handed dose of ethics on the friendship front.

Look for this on a shelf near you in February, or pre-order it now.


My copy of They Didn't Teach This in Worm School was provided by LibraryThing's Early Reviewers.

What's New? The Zoo! - a review

Krull, Kathleen. 2014. What's New? The Zoo!: A Zippy History of Zoos. New York: Scholastic.  Illustrated by Marcellus Hall.

What's New? The Zoo? is an illustrated overview of zoos that combines history with hard science and social science.  Kathleen Krull outlines the history of zoos, and offers insight into what compels us to keep animals, what we've learned from them, and what has changed in zoos since the founding of the first known zoo,

4,400 Years Ago, The Sumerian City of Ur, in Present-Day Iraq
The king of beasts lunges and roars.  The King of Ur roars right back, feeling like the ruler of all nature.  How delicious to wield his power over dangerous animals!  It's the world's first known zoo, and all we're sure about (from clay tablets in libraries) is that is has lions.

From this beginning, Krull highlights transitional moments in zoos throughout the ages and across the globe.  Just a few examples include:

• Ancient Egypt and Rome where zoos were created to impress
• Ancient China where the zoo was a contemplative and sacred place
• Sweden where the science of zoology was established in 1735
• The U.S. National Zoo where the concept of zoos protecting threatened species was introduced
• South Africa's Kruger National Park where the protection of rhinos was so successful that rhinos were delivered to other zoos
• Germany, 1907, where the "cageless zoo" concept is introduced

(Did you know that Aristotle wrote the first encyclopedia of animals?)

On most pages, humorous, watercolor illustrations nestle around paragraphs of simple font against white space.  Several pages, however (including one depiction of fifteen buffalo waiting for a train at Grand Central Station, 1907), are double-spreads with many amusing details.

The very talented Kathleen Krull never disappoints!  If you like your science accessible and entertaining, this is the book for you.

A SLJ interview with Kathleen Krull on the history of zoos.

The Midnight Zoo - a review

My review of The Midnight Zoo  (as it appeared in the March 2012 edition of SLJ)

The Midnight Zoo (unabr.). 4 CDs. 4.33 hrs. Prod. by Bolinda Audio. Dist. by Brilliance Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-7428-5126-6. $49.97.

Gr 7–10-- Like a 20th-century version of Avi's Crispin, who fled across 14th-century England, 12-year-old Andrej is without parents and adrift in Europe during World War II with his younger brother, Tomas, and infant sister in tow. Without destination or an understanding of the war that has divided them from their nomadic Roma clan, the siblings travel by night and sleep by day, sensing danger at every juncture. Andrej scavenges for their food and necessities for the baby. One moon-drenched evening, the trio arrives at a zoo in the ruins of a bombed village. They encounter a menagerie of talking animals, trapped in zoo cages with neither keeper nor keys. Throughout a surreal evening, the boys and animals share life stories. Through the animals, Andrej and Tomas begin to understand the nature of man and war. This understanding, however, offers more questions than answers. Richard Aspel's, rich and sonorous voice creates memorable characterizations for the many humans and animals in Sonya Harnett's novel (Candlewick, 2011), including German-speaking soldiers; his Aussie pronunciation requires a keen ear. Listeners who persevere will be rewarded with a stellar performance. With some aspects of fable, minimal dialogue, and heavy use of allegory, this artfully crafted look at the character of man and the concept of freedom may have limited popular appeal.

Copyright © 2012 Library Journals, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

My Heart is like a Zoo

Hall, Michael. 2010. My heart is like a zoo. New York: Harper Collins.

With digitally created art that explodes in a riot of simple color combinations, this book is sure to grab the attention of young children. Each zoo animal is depicted in only a few colors against a brightly contrasting background with sparse white text.  Hearts are used extensively in each illustration.

Rhyming similes describing how "my heart is like a zoo," are both simple and inventive,

Frightened as a rabbit, jumpy as a frog, gloomy as a lone coyote walking in the fog.

Straightforward and satisfying. This is the author's first book for children.

New picture books

Our computers were down at work today…a great time to explore the contents of my new arrivals bag!

From the picture book collection:

Pinkney, Jerry. 2009. The Lion and the Mouse. New York: Little Brown.

Jerry Pinkney’s The Lion and the Mouse is a (nearly) wordless re-telling of Aesop’s fable of the same name. The story unfolds clearly and simply. The only “words” are the sounds of the Serengeti plain – the screech of an owl, the squeak of the mouse, the putt-putt of the hunter’s truck, the roar of the trapped lion. The pencil, watercolor, and colored pencil illustrations on paper, are simply stunning, conveying both the vastness and majesty of the African Serengeti and the myriad emotions of the lion and the mouse as they encounter each other by chance and again by purpose. The soft butter-yellow pages blend artfully with the earthy hues of Africa’s birds, plants, insects and wildlife. A beautiful book!

Redmond, E.S. 2009. Felicity Floo Visits the Zoo. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Felicity Floo has a cold and she’s off to visit the zoo – without a tissue. Trouble ensues as little Felicity spreads her germs,

“All of the animals down at the zoo
Are snuffling and snorting and sneezing ACHOO.
The lions won’t roar, and the tigers just mew.”

The double-spread illustrations are delightfully dreary. The disheveled Felicity sports a red nose, baggy eyes and a slimy, shiny, green hand print which she plasters throughout the zoo. Emus, elephants, flamingos and more, eye her with wide-eyed dismay.

Of course, one could argue that the idea of a zoo visitor touching the animals and spreading germs is a poor and erroneous example for little listeners; however, this is an engaging, rhyming story that spreads, not just germs, but a timely reminder to use a tissue and keep one’s slimy, green germs to oneself! A fun introduction to hand-washing and flu prevention.

And now our computers are working and it's time to get my nose out of books ...