Diary of a Worm

Doreen Cronin (author)

Harry Bliss (Illustrations)

HarperCollins, USA: 2003

ISBN: 006000150X

Genres: picture book, Science

Issues: ecology, environment

This very clever picture book is great for ‘lap reading' with a youngster. There is no real narrative here, just an expression of the day-to-day adventures of a young worm as he goes about doing his job of ‘helping the earth breathe' and eating rubbish.

The dry, understated humour of the text will appeal to brighter children, especially. It is the concept of looking at life from a ‘worm's eye view' that is the real attraction of the book, however.

‘It rained all night and the ground was soaked. We spent the entire day on the sidewalk. Hopscotch is a very dangerous game.'

The illustrations are lively and touches of strong colour lighten those that must, because of their content, be predominantly brown and grey. Many pictures have a speech bubble, sign or note embedded which carries the humour of the text onto the page.

Highly recommended.