Crickwing

Rating:
Summary: Cockroaches! That sculpt! I love it!
Review: Although not quite STELLALUNA or VERDI, Ms. Cannon excels with CRICKWING, the story of an injured cockroach-turned-sculptor. The book, as all of Ms. Cannon's books, is vibrant and beautiful, and a welcome addition to my own daughter's library.

The story: we follow the injured Crickwing through his own torments, his release in art (sculpting food) and subsequent personal growth when he turns tormentor to some leaf cutter ants. His eventual acension to savior of the ant colony (from Army ants) resolves the conflict (both internal and external) in a way sure to delight and comfort your child.

CRICKWING, although not the best book (by Ms. Cannon, or otherwise), is sure to delight fans of STELLALUNA or roaches (see the movie Joe's Apartment).

Rating:
Summary: Controlling emotions
Review: Crickwing is a cockroach who is grumpy because a toad have him a crooked wing and it aches. Crickwing likes to play with his food before eating it, but several nights in a row, his meal is stolen from him by large critters like lizards or monkeys before he gets a chance to dig in. Crickwing vents his frustration by torturing leaf cutter ants, but he gets in deep trouble, finding himself elected by the leaf cutter ants as the peace offering for the army ants. The story has a number of points that some kids, especially young ones, may find rather scary. But other kids may enjoy the tension. At the end of the story are some feature articles that provide more factual information about cockroaches and ants. The book has about 1600 words.

Rating:
Summary: Think twice before crunching that cockroach!
Review: Janell Cannon has a gift for making the creepy critters lovable. In "Stellaluna" she made us identify with a lost bat; in "Verdi" she made us cheer for a snake who learns to shed his skin; but now she tackles the impossible: cockroaches!

Crickwing (so named because of a twisted wing) is a lonely cockroach. He spends his days as a "food-stylist", crafting sculptures of his food before eating them. But he and his sculptures are easy prey to lizards and other roach-eating critters.

Tired of being a victem, he decides he is going to pick on some smaller targets: ants! But the leaf-eating ants are not as harmless as they seem and they swarm Crickwing when his shenanigans go too far. Crickwing is not really the bully he seems, and when danger threatens both the ants and him, he becomes an unlikely hero! Vibrant and just as engaging as her previous books, though this one is more of a cheeky fable then fantasy. "Crickwing" just might make you think twice before stepping on a cockroach! A terrific companion piece for the award-winning author.