Diary of a Worm

A: Diary of a Worm
B: Cronin, Doreen
C: Bliss, Harry
D: HarperCollins, 2004
E: fiction Picture Book
F: K-3
G: Its not easy to be a worm. But there are some things to remember. Worm faces a lot of things. The earth needs him to dig tunnels, and he can’t bother Daddy while he is eating the paper. His best friend is Spider. He tries to teach Spider to dig and Spider tries to teach him how to walk upside down. Neither one works very well. When fishing season starts, they must dig deeper and after it rains, he must watch out for hopscotch players. Worm got hungry at lunch in April and ate his homework, and the sentences he had to write. Worm also likes to scare the girls on the playground and make them scream. He had a nightmare about birds playing hopscotch. Spider made him sad by making fun of him not having legs, but worm made him laugh and they were friends again. Worm even went to the dance. He insulted his sister and got in trouble and gave some bad thing about being a worm. In the end he reminds us that the earth needs them.
H: I really liked this book. I have heard a lot of good things about this about this book and I was anxious to read it for myself. The simple, yet descriptive artwork is what caught my eye from the start. It is not of the wall or over the top; it just provides a great backdrop for this story. I also like how the illustrator changes the spreads from small pictures to full 2 page spreads. The story can almost be told entirely from the pictures, they do that good of a job depicting the story. I also loved the format of this book. I have not had the chance to read a journal picture book. This is a great concept that students can really benefit from. This book is also not as simple as some other picture books. This journal form would make it harder for younger readers to understand, but is great for a bit older students. I also like the lessons presented in this book. It talks on manners, friendship, family relationships, and the importance of worms. Overall, this is a great book and I will be reading more from this author.
I: This book will be a valuable tool in many classroom settings. It can be implemented in a first or second grade classroom to introduce journal writing. This book will show them that your entries do not have to be very long, just say what is needed. I would also like to use this book near Earth Day to show how worms play a great part in the environment. Their tunnels help the earth breath. I also think that maybe this book could be used in a kindergarten class to talk about the relationship within families.