BIG BUG SURPRISE

Prunella is fascinated with bugs. Other people don’t seem to share her enthusiasm, though. Whenever she shares an interesting fact, their response always seems to be, “Not now, Prunella.” But that all changes one day at school when a queen bee flies in the window. Prunella knows that she never flies alone and that the rest of the hive will soon follow, but her teacher doesn’t want to listen. So, Prunella takes the situation into her own hands and uses her knowledge of bees to lead them to a new hive outside the building, saving her classmates from the swarm. After that, everyone wants to hear what she has to say about bugs, even when the facts are not the most pleasant (her show-and-tell is a dung beetle). A final page lists a few more facts about the bugs Prunella has mentioned. Gran’s droll illustrations perfectly capture the spirit of a young girl in love with bugs. Looking like a bug herself, even Prunella’s pet bugs have personalities. This plucky heroine is sure to be an inspiration to every girl with an interest that is outside the norm and a perfect companion to Megan McDonald’s Insects Are My Life (1995). (Picture book. 4-8)