Diary of a Worm

Amazon.com
Doreen Cronin (Click, Clack Moo: Cows That Type) and cartoonist Harry Bliss (illustrator of A Fine, Fine School) shed a whole new light on a creature that spends most of its time underground: the earthworm. Written in diary form, this truly hilarious picture book tracks the ins and outs of a worm's life from the perspective of the worm family's young son. Take June 15's entry: "My older sister thinks she's so pretty. I told her that no matter how much time she spends looking in the mirror, her face will always look just like her rear end. Spider thought that was really funny. Mom did not." Except for the fact that he can't chew gum or have a dog, the boy likes being a worm. He never has to go to the dentist ("No cavities--no teeth, either"), he never gets in trouble for tracking mud through the house, and he never has to take a bath. As long as he can remember Mom's rule "Never bother Daddy when he's eating the newspaper," all is well. Bliss's endearing cartoonish illustrations of anthropomorphized worms are clever visual punchlines for Cronin's delightfully deadpan humor. For example, "June 5: Today we made macaroni necklaces in art class" sounds normal enough until you see the worms wearing one piece of macaroni around their necks, taking up a good part of each worm's body. Children and adults alike will adore this worm's eye perspective on the world. (Ages 6 and older) --Karin Snelson


From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-A baseball-capped crawler gives readers an episodic glimpse into the vicissitudes of his life in these hilarious diary entries. Difficulties such as having no arms, having a head that looks a lot like your rear end, and facing the dangers imposed by people digging for bait are balanced by a loving family and good friends. The young protagonist describes playing with his friend Spider, engaging in a variety of activities at school, and interacting with his parents and sister. Packed into these droll slice-of-worm-life vignettes are a few facts about earthworms and their behavior, all rendered with a dry sense of humor. The full-color watercolor-and-ink illustrations sprawl across the pages in lush earth tones. Bliss's cartoons give the worms lots of personality without overly anthropomorphizing them. The use of multiple perspectives will have children eagerly looking at the pictures to identify objects and locales. Primary-grade youngsters will especially appreciate the classroom scenes. This quirky worm's-eye view of the world makes these ubiquitous invertebrates a little more understandable and a lot more fun.Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WICopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Doreen Cronin is one of the best new humorous writers for young children, and DIARY OF A WORM does not disappoint. Harry Bliss uses multiple voices for Worm and his various friends. Bliss brings Worm himself to life with the cadences, enthusiastic tones, and simple statements of a young boy who meets the joys and opportunities of each day with sometimes wistful, sometimes deadpan humor. The music and sound effects enhance the story and performance; the environmental theme, along with the humor, make this a great selection that kids and adults alike will enjoy. W.L.S. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
PreS-Gr. 1. The verbal puns and the wry, colorful cartoons create a funny worm's-eye view of the world in this playful picture book. There's no sustained story here, as there was in Cronin's wonderful Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (2000), but the hilarious vignettes of the worm-child with his family, friends, and enemies show the absurd in humans as much as in the wriggling creatures in the earth. When the worm forgets his lunch, he eats his homework, and he loves telling his older sister that her face will always look like her rear end. One advantage of being a worm is that he never has to go to the dentist: no cavities. "No teeth, either," says Dr. D. Kay. The pictures are both silly and affectionate, whether the worm holds a pencil or hugs his favorite pile of dirt. And there's always the elemental child appeal of how it feels to be tiny in a world of giants. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description

This is the diary . . . of a worm. Surprisingly, a worm not that different from you or me. Except he eats his homework. Oh, and his head looks a lot like his rear end.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
A worm's wriggly life is never dull, and in this refreshingly original picture book from Doreen Cronin -- author of the Caldecott Honor–winning Click, Clack, Moo -- and illustrator Harry Bliss, one little critter talks about its highs and lows in a series of totally hilarious diary entries.

From March to August, the baseball cap–wearing worm records his thoughts and feelings about friends, family, digging, and eating. Armed with his mom's sage advice ("Never bother Daddy when he's eating the newspaper" is one of the most important) and a fairly positive attitude about life, the "underground dweller" gets a kick out of scaring girls on the playground, hanging out with friends (literally, hanging out with Spider), cutting the rug at school dances (getting farther than "put your head in" during the hokey-pokey is impossible), and other school-worm activities. Of course, a worm's life isn't all fun and games, especially since worms can't chew gum or have a dog, but they never have to go to the dentist or take baths! And while the little worm says life is tough because sometimes people forget worms exist, dear old Mom reminds him that "the earth never forgets we're here."

Pairing Cronin's wry storytelling with Bliss's comical, cartoonish illustrations, this charmer touches a range of emotions, ultimately tickling readers' funny bones as they see worms in a whole new light. Scenes of the poor worm sitting pensively under a mushroom and imagining himself as a Secret Service agent are truly priceless, while Cronin's economical, thoughtful use of language is the perfect tone for a little worm experiencing life. Although he's small, this prolific fellow has a heart and a story that are grand indeed. Matt Warner

ANNOTATION

A young worm discovers, day by day, that there are some very good and some not so good things about being a worm in this great big world.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This is the diary . . . of a worm. Surprisingly, a worm not that different from you or me. Except he eats his homework. Oh, and his head looks a lot like his rear end.

Doreen Cronin, the New York Times best-selling author of CLICK, CLACK, MOO and GIGGLE, GIGGLE, QUACK, teams up with illustrator Harry Bliss for this hysterical journal about the daily doings and the hidden world of a lovable underground dweller.

About the Author

Doreen Cronin is the author of two New York Times best-selling picture books, Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, a Caldecott Honor Book; and Giggle, Giggle, Quack. She lives in New York with her husband, Andrew.

FROM THE CRITICS

The New York Times

In Diary of a Worm, Doreen Cronin, the author of Click, Clack, Moo, teams up with Harry Bliss, a New Yorker cartoonist. They sprinkle tiny clods of digestible earthworm facts onto a happy wormworld that children will find reassuring, even alluring. — Bryn Barnard

Publishers Weekly

Cronin's beguiling journal entries by a worm who can write are as witty and original as the missives from her popular cows who can type (Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type). With his red baseball cap and good-natured humor, the titular hero is a winning American Everyboy, and young readers will identify with his escapades in part because they mirror their own. Bliss's (A Fine, Fine School) clever endpapers feature photos of the worm on his first day of school and on a family vacation to Compost Island, as well as his report card (he gets an "A" for tunnel, a "Pass" for Squirming). He makes his friend Spider "laugh so hard, he fell out of his tree," and he tells his sister that "her face will always look just like her rear end." But in addition to being like the hero, youngsters will also enjoy seeing their familiar world from a worm's vantage point. "It's not always easy being a worm," he says. One of the bad things is that a worm can't chew gum; one of the good things is that worms never get cavities (they have no teeth, he points out). At a school dance, a line of worms does the hokey pokey, putting their heads in and out and turning themselves about ("That's all we could do"). Bliss's droll watercolor illustrations are a marvel. He gives each worm an individual character with a few deft lines, and the varying perspectives and backgrounds enhance the humor of the text (especially a view from the sidewalk up, illustrating "Hopscotch is a very dangerous game," with a girl's sneakers about to descend). Inventive and laugh-out-loud funny, this worm's-eye view of the world will be a sure-fire hit. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Our worm hero is introduced on the cover, writing the diary that is the text. His prize photos and mementos are taped into the end papers. With his jaunty baseball cap, he is far more than the average worm. In entries from March to August, our narrator has adventures with family, friends, and hopscotch players, goes to school, learns lessons and wisdom from his family, does an unforgettable "hokey pokey," and puts in some good words for ecology. He's a real charmer with a sense of humor. Bliss's cartoon characters in context tickle our funny bones. A bed is made from an empty tea bag carton, the worm youngsters sit around mushroom tables, one worm has a scraggly beard. Designed mainly as vignettes, the illustrations emphasize the actions in the variety of the worm's experiences through the days, similar in many ways to those of human youngsters. 2003, Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins Publishers, Ages 4 to 8.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3-A down-to-earth invertebrate comments on friendship, family life, school, and his place in the universe. An amusing worm's-eye view of the world, with a tongue-in-cheek text and wry illustrations. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

AudioFile