Blog Entry #1

Diary of a Worm

Written by Doreen Cronin

Illustrated by Harry Bliss

Joanna Cotler Books, 2003

                                                         32 pages

                                                         Fiction

           

      I chose this book because the author is well-known and has received Caldecott Honors for two other books she has written. This story is a diary about a worm that narrates the events of his daily life. His life is much like that of a normal, human child except it is written from the perspective of a worm. His diary portrays his family and school life, daily activities, and struggles. This book is very enjoyable and comical.

     The illustrator is an actual cartoonist, and this book is illustrated in the style of cartoon art. There are a lot of speech bubbles which are reflective of this style. The media is drawing using pen and ink and painting using watercolors. The illustrator used a lot of texture and color in this book. It contains a lot of earth tones and dark colors since the setting is in nature, but there are pops of bright color on every page as well. There is a nice balance of warm and cool hues of color.

      This book is appropriate for a reader on a second grade level, it is very relatable to children this age, and would be appropriate for a teacher to read aloud. This book could be used as motivation for a science lesson on earthworms. It would be a funny book to get the lesson started with and to show that earthworms do not actually do these things that the book suggests. There are a couple factual statements about worms in the book that could be helpful to the lesson as well. This book has received the following awards: School Library Journal Best Book, Parents' Choice Silver Honor, Nevada Young Readers’ Award, IRA/CBC Children's Choice, and Buckaroo Book Award nominee (Wyoming).