(2) K-3 In a story centered on the collection, care, and digestion of excrement, Weber has crafted a contemporary fable that reads more gracious than gross. After a pile of steaming green-brown poop lands on an appreciative dung beetle ("SPLAT!"), the arduous work of forming it into a ball and rolling it safely home is interrupted by a leopard. The leopard asks the beetle why he works so hard for so little, to which he thoughtfully replies, "I don't have much. But the forest always provides enough." But when the beetle loses his ball of dung, he becomes discouraged and sets off on a journey to a (for him) distant farm. Sterile and disconnected from the surrounding environment, the farm produces a steady supply of dung -- so much so that the now-greedy beetle orders his fellow bugs to build him a huge "empire" of poop. An inevitable avalanche of feces leaves the beetle down and dung-less, but he heads back home with a renewed sense of gratitude for all that nature provides. Weber's lush pencil and digital illustrations feature plenty of atmospheric effects and eye-catching perspectives. While character illustrations are cartoonlike, the settings are more realistic, and the animal characters are full of personality. The efficient text and strong page design result in a briskly paced story, yet subtle narrative flourishes throughout the illustrations will surely be discovered and appreciated through unhurried viewing. Back matter includes a short list of dung beetle facts, from navigation to strength to diet.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024