by Benjamin Harper and Sarah Hines Stephens; illustrated by Anoosha Syed
304 pages; ages 8-12
Imprint, 2017
I've been posting reviews of "bug" books over at Archimedes Notebook for the past month: insect field guides, mantids - and more today. So when I learned that there was a superhero (or heroine) calling herself Bug Girl... you know I could not pass up a chance to check her out!
I fell in love with this book from page 0 whereupon was printed a dedication to dorks, geeks, science nerds and other "misfits" in the middle school world.
Then there's the adorably geeky Amanda Price, backpack covered by bug buttons slung across her shoulder, dragonfly lunchbox, and Trina, a Madagascar hissing cockroach. (Full disclosure: I had a Madagascar hissing cockroach for a pet, too.) She has penned such school reports as "Tree Lobsters: Where are they now?" Her classmates are not as enamored of arthropods as is Amanda. In fact, they are appalled/disgusted/offended when she brings her cockroaches to school.
What I like about this book: Of course there are villains, and the adult superheroines are taken captive. Who will save the town? Amanda decides she will, but to do so she needs the help of her ex-best friend. Plus there's the whole going through metamorphosis thing.... but now that she has antennae and special insect superpowers, saving the town shouldn't be too difficult. Except that it is.
I love the Fun Bug Facts scattered through the book, the scientific illustrations of Amanda and her friends (labeled, of course), rules of middle school, directions to make a paper hat, and comic book-style illustrations. I even learned the difference between farfalle and macaroni.
Bug Girl is fun to read, filled with imagination, and may cause readers to want to get to know more about insects. Will there be more? I'm sure of it! The world is filled with villains, and Amanda introduced us to just a few of the 2 million (or more) species of insects in this world.
I'm sorry, you had a _what_ as your pet??!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I'm going to be able to get over that interesting fact, but this sounds like an awesome book! I love the art style.
I was studying the behavior of cockroaches in graduate school (glamorous, I know!) so it kind of made sense to have one of those large hissing cockroaches as a "desk pet". They are kind of cute and not too demanding.
DeleteThis sounds like a fun book! My daughter would've loved it when she was younger. Mixing science with fiction is such a great way to go!
ReplyDeleteYes - totally fun! Kinda like Wonder Woman meets the insect world.
DeleteWhat a fun sounding book with a female heroine! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy before passing it along to an eager young reader. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteA bug girl superhero! I love it and so will many bug-loving kids. Can't believe you had cute cockroach as a pet. Amazing. Great review.
ReplyDeleteWow! I never heard of a Madagascar hissing cockroach before and now I learn that not only does the heroine have one as a pet, but you did too. That's amazing! This book certainly sounds different from the other superhero books out there. I'm thrilled that the superhero is a girl.
ReplyDeleteI think bug themed heroes are becoming a thing. This sort of reminds me of a younger version of Miraculous Ladybug. I used to love bugs, though I always was grossed out by cockroaches XD. It sounds super funny! Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteAny book dedicated to science nerds AND having a girl superhero has got to be great!
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