The Fly; The Rat; The Slug; The Worm: Disgusting Critters Series by E. Gravel

Gravel, Elise. The Fly; The Rat; The Slug; The Worm: Disgusting Critters Series. Tundra Books, 2016.These paperback reissues of Governor General’s award-winning children’s author Elise Gravel’s Disgusting Critters series – one that includes further volumes devoted to the spider, the toad, and head lice[!] – serve to bring to an even wider audience Gravel’s whimsical illustrations and sense of humour. Translated from the original French, the captions offer a soupçon of homely scientific information about each critter’s contribution to global ecology. Gravel is also known for her cartoons and graphic novels, and her critter illustrations are mainly sight-gags. Thus, while these books are ideally suited for reading to children from 3 to 6, older children learning to read can/will understand and appreciate the jokes. Recommended for all public, school, and academic curriculum library collections.Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Merrill Distad Historian and author Merrill Distad enjoyed a four-decade career building libraries and library collections.