Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin, Illustrated by Harry Bliss

I really didn't have very high expectations for Diary of a Worm, but it turned out that I loved it! It was filled with so much "worm" humor that I found myself chuckling to myself. Told from the perspective of a young worm, the worm seemed rather human. He went to school, did his homework (and ate it), and had all kinds of adventures. Filled with so much life and energy, the worm also went through typical worm experiences and worm experiences you wouldn't really think about. Typical experiences mentioned included digging deeper to avoid being used as bait and being on the sidewalk after a rainstorm. Unusual worm experiences included only being able to put your head in during the Hokey Pokey and making macaroni necklaces in art class. One noodle slipped over the worm's body.

I thought this was a very unique picture book. Often diaries and journals are used for children's novels, but this was the first picture book I have read that uses the diary format to tell its story. The worm's story was so wholesome and down-to-earth (pun intended) :) . This worm definitely likes to experiment and try out new ideas that don't always work. When the spider tells him to walk upside down, he realizes he can't. When he decides to be nice and says "Good morning" to one of the ants, he ends up staying at the same spot all day saying "Good Morning" to over 600 ants. Through this diary format, students can enter the life of this worm and develop a new idea when considering perspective in their writing. Perhaps they can pretend to be an animal, or perhaps they can write about themselves in a diary format with brief stories from their life.

The illustrations in this story only added to the story's effectiveness. Harry Bliss is an award-winning cartoonist, and the cartoonist feel comes through in the pictures. The pictures were very kid-friendly. Even the minor details in the pictures develop a framework for the story. As a cartoonist would do, at times word bubbles were used above the characters' heads. My favorite one was "Must make tunnel-help Earth breathe!" Words in large font were also used for sounds like CHOMP and THUD. With his worm family, he's 100% happy.

Cute quirk after cute quirk about being a worm makes this story memorable and a must-read for kids! I would definitely recommend getting this story for your classroom library! Get on it!