Bound To Stay Bound

Bulletin for the Center... - 10/01/2003 Yes, this is the diary of a worm, a young baseball-capped guy noting his under- and above-ground activities from March to August. Worm Kid studies hard but has a tendency to eat his homework, he enjoys taunting his sister ("I told her that no matter how much time she spends looking in the mirror, her face will always look just like her rear end"), and he plays with his friend Spider, though they have the occasional falling out ("He told me you need legs to be cool"). There’s no real story arc, and it would be nice to have a fuller explanation of the environmental importance to which the text often alludes, but the shovelfuls of jokes will squirm directly to kids’ funnybones: the limitations on worm hokey pokey, the dangers of hopscotch, and the pleasures of scaring kids on the playground will all make kids wiggle with giggles. Bliss’ earthworms are tidy and personable crawlers in trim black lines, sporting small individual identifiers such as eyeglasses and hair ribbons, with touches of highlighting and shading suggesting wormy segmentation. The poker-faced juxtaposition of underground habitation with the homey details of above-ground life adds additional humor for viewers, who will also get a kick out of the wormy photo album that constitutes the final spread. This will be a snicker-provoking readalone for readers reluctant and otherwise, and it would also make a comic readaloud—if you’re feeling especially wicked, pair it with a fishing story. - Copyright 2003 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

School Library Journal - 10/01/2003 PreS-Gr 3-A baseball-capped crawler gives readers an episodic glimpse into the vicissitudes of his life in these hilarious diary entries. Difficulties such as having no arms, having a head that looks a lot like your rear end, and facing the dangers imposed by people digging for bait are balanced by a loving family and good friends. The young protagonist describes playing with his friend Spider, engaging in a variety of activities at school, and interacting with his parents and sister. Packed into these droll slice-of-worm-life vignettes are a few facts about earthworms and their behavior, all rendered with a dry sense of humor. The full-color watercolor-and-ink illustrations sprawl across the pages in lush earth tones. Bliss's cartoons give the worms lots of personality without overly anthropomorphizing them. The use of multiple perspectives will have children eagerly looking at the pictures to identify objects and locales. Primary-grade youngsters will especially appreciate the classroom scenes. This quirky worm's-eye view of the world makes these ubiquitous invertebrates a little more understandable and a lot more fun.-Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information. - Copyright 2003 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 10/01/2003 The verbal puns and the wry, colorful cartoons create a funny worm's-eye view of the world in this playful picture book. There's no sustained story here, as there was in Cronin's wonderful Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (2000), but the hilarious vignettes of the worm-child with his family, friends, and enemies show the absurd in humans as much as in the wriggling creatures in the earth. When the worm forgets his lunch, he eats his homework, and he loves telling his older sister that her face will always look like her rear end. One advantage of being a worm is that he never has to go to the dentist: no cavities. No teeth, either, says Dr. D. Kay. The pictures are both silly and affectionate, whether the worm holds a pencil or hugs his favorite pile of dirt. And there's always the elemental child appeal of how it feels to be tiny in a world of giants. - Copyright 2003 Booklist.