The Rat
Gravel’s non-fiction series is almost irresistibly cute. I picked one up during my hunt for Level M books and my toddler, who is not yet two, insisted that I read it to him. He wasn’t the least disappointed which speaks well for the versatility of the set. They’ll work well for kids still in the picture book phase of life, but also for beginning readers.
These days, non-fiction books come in a wide variety of styles. Lots of kids love to read non-fiction and if libraries have been keeping up their collections, they have great choices, including books with amazing photography and flashy text features, a far cry from the dull, dense options of my childhood. Gravel’s books are ideal for the reader that is intensely attached to fiction. With adorable illustrations and speech bubbles filled with humorous asides from the creatures themselves, they are sure to entertain. Most of the time the facts are in the print, but the asides by the creatures are fiction. There are a few exceptions to this which might confuse some readers – The worm book mentions that its muscle tube is “slimy and disgusting” which is not actually factual information so much as opinion. But that seems minor compared to the overall appeal of the set. Go forth and discover disgusting creatures!
Age Recommendation: Grades 2-4. Of course, there’s tough vocabulary specific to the topics and I would have liked to see a glossary at the end to help kids with that, but overall the brevity of the text will be great for younger readers.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – These books do often cover the reproduction of the disgusting creatures. In The Worm: Therefore, we learn that worms are often hermaphrodites, with both male and female reproductive organs (this is also described as “in other words, an earthworm is boy and a girl at the same time”) but that they need a partner to reproduce. In The Slug: The slug needs to find a partner to have babies and therefore follows another slug’s mucus trail. We learn that slugs are also male and female at the same time. A slug is shown in a hospital bed while a doctor announces “It’s a boy-girl”.
Profanity – “Darn” is used in both The Fly and The Rat.
Death, Violence and Gore – None.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – None.
