ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
EASY READERS
Fenske, Jonathan

The Bug in the Bog

32 pp. | Simon Spotlight | December, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-5344-7724-7 $17.00 | Paper ISBN 978-1-5344-7723-0 $4.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-5344-7725-4 $4.99
(2) K-3 Ready-to-Read series. In this darkly funny early reader in rhyme, the cheerful titular bug doesn't seem to be long for this world when a frog shows up in the bog; the simply drawn, expressive cartoon illustrations show the frog eyeing the bug hungrily and even donning a bib. A fog obscures a moment that seems to be the end of our insect friend, but that boldly lettered "CHOMP!" and "CHEW!" might not mean what readers assume at first. Simple rhymes, repeated words, and brief lines of text in large print make for an effective easy reader, and the decoding work pays off in a story with humor, suspense, and nearly singable meter ("See the bug in the bog. // See the bug on a log. / See the bug watch / the muddy bog bubble. // The bug sits. / The bug sings. / The bug thinks / happy things, // never dreaming / there could be some trouble"). It could also lend itself to a lesson plan about making predictions--if one doesn't mind having one's predictions upended in the silliest way possible. (Burp.)
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

RELATED 

EASY READERS

Wildflowers
by Liniers,
EASY READERS

A Giant Mess
by Ebbeler, Jeffrey
EASY READERS

Fish and Sun
by Ruzzier, Sergio
EASY READERS

Tiny Tales
by Waldo, Steph
EASY READERS

Tag Team
by Raúl the Third,
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?