Mosquito

by Virginia Kroll, Betsy LePlatt (Illustrator)

Overview

A pesky mosquito gets his due. Mosquito is a nuisance to all the animals as he buzzes about the forest. With fun word play, including rhyme, alliteration, and onomatopoeia, each critter expresses its annoyance with him. Finally, Mosquito bothers the wrong neighbor, who ends the insect's career as resident pest. A list of mosquito facts appears at the end of this humorous children's story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781589808836
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	09/28/2011
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

The daughter of a U.S. Immigrations Officer father and a registered nurse/model/television personality mother, Virginia Kroll grew up in West Seneca, New York. The inspiration for her new picture book came when the author was driving home from a rural church service and saw a yellow plastic bowl blowing across a newly harvested field. Wondering where it came from and why it was there, she began imagining the adventures it might take. The story came together in her mind naturally. Virginia Kroll is a prolific writer with over sixty books published since 1992 and 1,750 published magazine items. A full-time author and speaker as well as a writing instructor with the Institute of Children's Literature, her books range in subject from African folktales to universals, such as siblings and heroes. She is a former teacher with six kids of her own and two granddaughters. Kroll's book publications have received numerous awards, including a Jane Addams Peace Association commendation; a 1996 listing on the New York Charlotte Award Masterlist; a 1995 KIND Book of the Year Award (Humane Society of the United States); the 1996 Skipping Stones Multicultural Book Award in Best Picture Book; the 1996 Outstanding Trade Book in the Field of Science; three Benjamin Franklin Awards; the 2004 Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year; and the International Reading Association/Children's Book Council 2004 Children's Choice Award. Virginia Kroll has worked as a nurse aide, recreations supervisor, art teacher, and a crafts teacher. She teaches religion at SS Peter & Paul Church, collects stickers, and is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the Retired Teachers and Librarians Association, and the Executive Women of America. A dedicated animal lover, she and her family share their home in Hamburg, New York, just south of Buffalo, with more than forty animals, including tortoises, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, cats, degus, budgies, and a hedgehog.

Editorial Reviews

Almost as annoying at the eponymous insect, this pointless picture book seems unlikely to find an appreciative audience.

Prolific author Kroll rolls out rhymed verses in an abab pattern.The first and third lines are the same: " 'Buzz,' said Mosquito."The second and fourth feature inexplicably old-fashioned language as each animal that Mosquito approaches responds. The verbs Kroll chooses suit the animals well.Bear growls, Hare thumps, Dog barks, Drake quacks. But the words and phrases they use won't resonate with young listeners."Gee whiz!" "Dagnabbit!" "Fiddlesticks!" "Alack!" Alack? After what feels like an interminable series of encounters, including animals both wild and domestic as well as a little girl, the mosquito meets an unfortunate end at the hands—or rather in the mouth—of a bat. The uninspired text gets no help from the bland illustrations. The animals are represented realistically, though they are occasionally awkwardly drawn, but the mosquito is overlarge and oddly anthropomorphized. And in contrast to the strong, active verbs, overall the paintings are decidedly static. A final page featuring facts about mosquitoes seems aimed at a considerably older audience; it feels tacked on and not particularly useful.

Better books about bugs or by this author are plentiful, so skip this one with a clear conscience. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews