8 Ways Disgusting Critters Series Author Elise Gravel Makes Nonfiction Adorable

Funny Asides
When a snail tells a slug, “Ha ha! You’re naked!” you know Elise Gravel’s world is about more than boring taxonomy and statistics. In her Disgusting Critters series, she gives everything from rats to slugs a voice.

Loads of Personality
Those characters don’t just have a voice, they have personality. The worm greets readers with “Enchante,” and a toad soaks up a round of applause from readers. These animals have plenty of thoughts about the world and their place in it, and they are happy to share them any chance they get!

Graphic Style
Gravel’s illustrations are colorful and simple, but sprinkled with little details that keep kids wanting to read more. Each book has a consistent color palette, and the handlettering adds texture and interest. Even head lice look cute (or at least not atrocious) in her style.

Lots of Eyeballs
In Elise Gravel’s world, everything gets eyeballs—even mushrooms. The Mushroom Fan Club is filled with everything from coral mushroom to dog stinkhorns. All with cute peepers that give them lots of personality. A cross between a picture book, a chapter book, and a field guide, this colorful introduction to mycology will encourage a new generation of mushroom hunters.

Silly Moments
Imagine jump roping with a spider or comparing snot bubbles with a slug. It’s clear this is what Gravel daydreams about. The best part is that she’s convinced publishers to let her sprinkle these creative ideas in nonfiction books that might otherwise be same old same old.

Gross Fun Facts
Gravel doesn’t hold back on the fun facts either. She makes sure readers know rats eat everything—including electrical wire. The Fly book doesn’t gloss over the fact that flies vomit on their food before eating. And The Worm is basically one long digestive tract inside a tube of muscle. Bleh!

A Pro Curiosity Point of View
By writing about common (if disgusting) critters and the strange world of mushrooms, Gravel offers kids the chance to do their own follow-up research. These books aren’t about what happens under a microscope or at the distant end of a telescope. They’re about the world that we see, smell, hear, touch, and taste every day. Sensory details, open ended questions, and enthusiasm all leave kids wanting to get curious and see what they can learn too.

Solid Science
Of course, even with all these fun touches, the science stands front and center. Every book Gravel writes includes the big important ideas readers need to know about these topics, presented in a clear, easy-to-understand format. And best of all, she encourages kids to observe the natural world and make their own weird, wonderful notebooks.