Superworm by Julia Donaldson

Superworm by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Alex Scheffler

Rating: 5 stars

A few months ago I participated in the Two Writing Teacher's Slice of Life March Challenge; every day I wrote a short or long (yup, mine were on the longer side…) essay about a snapshot within my life.  I do this on a weekly basis, but in March I wrote every day.  Because I was successful in my daily practice, my name was put into a drawing for a bunch of prizes.  And I won this book!  Thanks again to Scholastic for donating so many copies of them.

(Originally I thought I had won 16 books.  For clutter's sake, it was better that 16 of us had won one copy of this book!)

Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler are no newcomers to children's book.  They've given us many, many books, including: The Gruffalo (book for me is pretty good, but the movie version probably still gives poor Kiefer nightmares) and A Gold Star for Zog and my favorite Room on the Broom.  Donaldson is a great author to remember when you're at the library and need a starting place.  She writes really great stuff, and illustrator Scheffler makes those books even more magically funny.

Superworm is no different from the rest of her books.  It is fantastic!  The starting premise is so silly that my kids' interest was piqued as soon as I opened the envelope it arrived in.  A superhero worm?!  We were doubting the concept in just the right way--with smiles on our faces and hands grabbing for the book.  This we had to see!

That is one strong worm!

It turns out that Superworm is a hometown hero; he courageously does the right thing with his body that can transform into lots of different things.  He rescues a baby toad by becoming a lasso when the toad attempts to cross a traffic-y street.  He rescues a bug that's fallen into a well by becoming a fishing line.  Bees are bored, therefore he becomes a jump rope.  People (well, I mean bugs) love him so much they chant:

Superworm is super-strong!
Superworm is super-long!
Watch him wiggle!  See him squirm!
Hip, hip, hooray for SUPERWORM!

Therefore, when the Wizard Lizard kidnaps him and makes him dig up precious treasures, threatening to feed Superworm to his side kick Crow, the town goes crazy.  They want to help this hero who has helped them so many times.  Wonderfully, the insects all come together while the lizard sleeps and they defeat him in a hometown, this-is-what-we-do sort of way.  (I'm thinking of the scene from "The Three Amigos"… "We must sew!"  Anyone…anyone?)  Spider spins a web around him, the bees make him extra sticky, and another bug eats his magical flower leaf, robbing him of his magic.  They fly him to the town dump and leave him there wrestling the rubbish.

When Superworm emerges from underground, the happy town erupts in cheers--their hero is back!

It's worth closing your eyes and imagining a less imaginative book--with a person as a hero, rescuing kids instead of toads and bugs.  Nope.  That's just soooo to-be-expected.  A modest, humble, unassuming worm as a superhero?  Now THAT is funny and cute!  This is another wonderful book from Donaldson and Scheffler!

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler

Rating: 5 stars

I was so excited to find this book in Barnes & Noble a few weeks ago.  I read the board book version, then went home and ordered the book through our trusty local library.  I was ready to shout from the hilltops about how great the book is, until I found www.roomonthebroom.com and got a flashback from Spaceballs the movie.

There is a Room on the Broom website.  There is a Room on the Broom activity book.  There is a Room on the Broom T-shirt.  There is a Room on the Broom board game.  There is a Room on the Broom stuffed animal.  There is a Room in the Broom play.  There is a Room on the Broom puzzle set.

Oh.  You mean this book has been out a while?  Like, I'm the last one on earth to discover it?  I see.

Still, I've got to tell you about it, in case you're behind me in the yet-to-discover-it line.

Better than the list of consumer items above, here's the proof that this book is great: I read it to my multi-age trio--ages 2, 4, and 6--and they were all spellbound.  The rhythm of the rhyme rollicks along, inviting anyone in the room to stop what they're doing and listen.  The huge illustrations and the rhyme itself help with predictions, and little Kiefer could easily fill in the blank and finish the stanza.

How it is written is fantastic and impressive.  But what the story is about is even better: Karma.

Yep, that's right.  Karma.  Every kid should know about it!

Here's the truly magnificent broom!

The witch and her cat fly along, and one at a time things drop from her cute, spooky outfit.  And one at a time an animal down below helps her find it.  She drops her hat; a dog picks it up.  She drops her bow; a bird flies to return it.  She drops her wand; a frog lifts it from the bog for her.  After an item is returned from her, the animal asks if he can join her and the cat on the broom.  She says, unequivocally and without any annoying "only if you're good" statements: "YES!"  Delighted, they hop on.

But a hop is where they get into trouble: the frog hops out of excitement, and the broom breaks!

Down they all go, into the territory of a fire-breathing dragon.  The dragon quickly catches the witch and is about to eat her up when he spots a terrible animal rising from the mud with four heads and four different sounds coming from it.  This creature demands the dragon to return the witch.  He's so frightened that he does, and flies away quickly.  As soon as he's gone, the four animals hop down and wash themselves off--and the grateful witch thanks them.

She was kind to let them ride her broom, and they save her life.  Karma.

With the animals' help, she concocts a brew and a magic spell (what's a Halloween book without a little abra-cadabra?) to make a "truly sensational broom," with fancy seats for the cat and dog, a nest for the bird, and a pool for the frog.

This is a great, great book--a winner of a gift to any child or family that loves Halloween.  But you probably already know about it.