FICTION

Bug in a Vacuum

by Mélanie WATT
96p. Tundra. 2015. Tr $21.99. ISBN 9781770496453.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 3—A little bug is on top of the world (literally sitting on a globe), when tragedy strikes. His world goes dark as he gets sucked into a vacuum. Bug goes through the Kübler-Ross stages of grief with dramatic humor. At the same time, the household pet—a dog—loses its knitted toy buddy to the same vacuum. Dog also experiences a canine version of the same five stages, before all's well that ends well. The double-page artwork cleverly illustrates these traumatic events with a muted palette and cute, cartoony characters. Much of the humor is tongue-in-cheek. There is plenty of detail in the illustrations that will evoke adult chuckles and encourage children to look closer.
VERDICT The award-winning author of the "Scaredy Squirrel" series (Kids Can) is back with an equally engaging, if a bit more sophisticated, picture book to delight audiences.
Reviewed by Mindy Whipple, West Jordan Library, UT
A fly's life is "changed with the switch of a button" when it gets vacuumed up. Stuck inside the dust bag, it experiences all five stages of grief before being set free. Dense with visual gags and callbacks, the book's accessible conceptual underpinnings and cartoonishly expressive protagonist make it both funny and suspenseful. Rich in clever detail, this will reward multiple reads.
 , Oct 01, 2015

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