Babak the Beetle

by Fred Paranuzzi, Andree Prigent (Illustrator)

Overview

One beetle’s trash is another beetle’s treasure! When Babak the little dung beetle finds an egg, he’s determined to find the owner. But he soon finds that this mysterious egg doesn’t belong to the ostrich, frog, or snake. What kind of egg is it?! Originally published in France, Fred Paronuzzi’s humorous tale paired with Andrée Prigent bright, graphic art is sure to bring on a good case of the giggles!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735842519
Publisher:	NorthSouth Books
Publication date:	05/01/2016
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.10(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD640L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Fred Paronuzzi is a versatile French writer writing for both adults and children—including novels, picture books, and more recently comic books. His books have been translated into Russian, German, Portuguese, and now English.

Andree Prigent was born in Brest, France. She studied at the Regional School of Fine Arts of Rennes. Author-illustrator, she is also devoted to the press and advertising design.

Editorial Reviews

This clever book, written by the prolific French children's author Fred Paronuzzi, intends mainly to make its readers laugh—to deliver the satisfaction of being in on the joke. In that it succeeds absolutely, and Andrée Prigent's stylish and witty, modern-looking illustrations only add to the book's delight.

The New York Times - Maria Russo

"Matte-like illustrations feature bright colors that pop against neutral backgrounds, and visual details such as Babak’s googly eyeballs add to the silliness...early elementary students should appreciate this goofy tale."— Kathleen McBroom, Booklist

From the Publisher

09/01/2016
K-Gr 2—In a story that will initially sound familiar to readers of P.D. Eastman's Are You My Mother?, Babak the beetle sets out to find the parent who has lost an egg. The repetitive tale continuously builds questions as Babak asks the animals in the forest if the egg belongs to them. Prigent has produced a couple of multihued pages amid the drab palette of paper bag tan, teal blue, and black. The small typeface has a typewritten appearance. Happily, the conclusion will bring a surprise to children and adults alike. VERDICT A supplemental tale that could best be augmented using flannel board pieces in a storytime for primary grade youngsters.—Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA

School Library Journal

2016-02-17
In this Gallic import, mistaken identity leads to a demonstration of the saw that no good deed goes unpunished. Concerned lest what he takes to be a lost egg come to harm, little dung beetle Babak selflessly abandons his own ball of dung to roll his new discovery laboriously off in search of its parents. In Prigent's simple illustrations the round "egg" looks speckled—but its identity may dawn on readers after an ostrich's observation: "It's a strange one, isn't it? It's all dented!" The birds, frogs, and snakes he approaches politely send Babak on in turn, each delivering a little tidbit of information about its own eggs or egg-laying habits. And at last he comes to a field where people with long sticks are hitting similar objects "again and again, until the eggs fell into holes! What a horrible sight!" Rather than give up his find to such "brutes," Babak hastens off, resolved to roll it home and hatch it himself. Good luck with that. Matte illustrations with the look of prints use few colors, the blues, yellows, greens, and reds popping against the brown-paper background with white and black accents. Young readers will laugh at first, but the certainty that such altruism will go unrewarded gives the "yolk" an off odor; Lindsay Ward's similarly themed When Blue Met Egg (2012) offers at least a concluding morsel of comfort. (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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