Bug Scouts

In this five-chapter comic for early readers, Lowery (I Don't Want to Read This Book) introduces the Bug Scouts: "some kind of bug" Doug, worm Abby, grumpy spider Josh ("I just come for the free snacks"), and newbie Luna, a lightning bug. From their "super-duper secret headquarters," the group embarks on a hike to earn one of 238 possible bug badges, this one for gathering plants to make into paint. They soon encounter a frog who, despite protestations to the contrary, clearly intends to eat them (it carries a knife, fork, salt, pepper, and a book entitled 101 Delicious Bug Recipes). But Josh, despite being generally badge-averse, inadvertently saves the day: the web hammock spun by the spider for a nap traps the frog, and the rarest item on the Scouts' foraging list turns out to be the very one Josh used to deflect the frog's tongue. With swarms of goofy jokes and adorable characters, the brief chapters fly by. Readers will most certainly be willing to affirm the first line of the Official Bug Scout Oath: "All bugs are awesome and that is a fact." Ages 7--10. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Apr.)■

A quartet of anthropomorphic invertebrates attempt to earn scout badges in the great outdoors. Lowery kicks off his graphic early chapter book series with a scout's oath: "All bugs are awesome / and that is a fact. / Raise your leg or antenna / and let's make a pact." Four "bug scouts" (two of whom are technically not bugs) introduce themselves; Josh the spider joins Abby the earthworm and Doug ("some kind of bug") in welcoming Luna the firefly to their troop. The group sets out on a nature walk in order to find an edible plant, and a series of outdoorsy teaching moments culminates in a narrow escape from a (seemingly!) friendly frog: "Come back! I want to eat you! I mean…meet you!" Along with lots of silly jokes and banter and plenty of frantic action, the book delivers a cogent warning about the hazards of eating or sometimes even touching anything unidentified in nature. However, Lowery uses the words toadstool--a term typically reserved for any type of mushroom that is poisonous and thus inedible--and mushroom interchangeably, which may prejudice impressionable young readers against the edible type. Furthermore, some of the natural history presented in the text is a bit dubious. The very simply drawn cartoon art and big lettering make this book appropriate and appealing for beginner and newly independent readers. An amusing, high-energy outing that teaches an important nature lesson. (Graphic early chapter book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.