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Summary
Summary
Ever since he was a wee mite (a termite, that is), Roberto has wanted to be an architect. Discouraged by his wood-eating family and friends, he decides to follow his dream to the big, bug city. There he meets a slew of not-so-creepy, crawly characters who spark in him the courage to build a community for them all.
With stunning collage illustrations and witty text, the creator of the bestselling The Night I Followed the Dog, Private I. Guana, and When Pigasso Met Mootisse brings to life a funny and inspirational story that will encourage readers of any age to build their dreams.
Author Notes
Nina Laden grew up in the New York City area. The daughter of two artists, she studied illustration at Syracuse University. She is the author and illustrator of The Night I Followed the Dog, also published by Chronicle Books.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This good-natured tale, whose striking collages incorporate wood products and city photographs, introduces a termite who "went against the grain.... Roberto didn't eat his food. He played with it." While other termites picnic on "wood chips" and shotgun shacks, Roberto yearns to build with boards. He also exhibits a philanthropic streak. His first project is a neighborhood for homeless bugs, including a fireproof stone dwelling for a ladybug whose first house, per the nursery rhyme, burned down. Laden (When Pigasso Met Mootisse) wittily imagines a termite with a social conscience, one who ensures that bedbugs have "their very own beds." She incorporates woodworking tools into her bug-themed spreads and creates furniture from carefully cropped pieces of cork and veneer. Ant-like Roberto hunches over a mahogany-brown drafting table, busily drawing blueprints for a milk-carton shelter and a conical hive with neat circular windows. Even if children don't get the gags about Hank Floyd Mite (seated at a Guggenheim-shaped desk with a sketch of Fallingwater) and Fleas Van Der Rohe, nonstop insect quips and humorous bug house illustrations keep this book buzzing along. Ages 2-6. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Roberto, a termite, longs to be an architect. Spurned by the likes of Hank Floyd Mite and Fleas van der Rohe, Roberto eventually finds fame using found objects to build fabulous homes for the less fortunate. The humor of this adult-oriented tale, which is illustrated with manic mixed-media collage artwork, often comes across as desperate. From HORN BOOK Spring 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A sometimes heavy-handed and knowing story about a humble small-town termite who went against the grain. A trial to his parents, Roberto melted over maple. But he wanted to play with wood . . . not eat it. Pining for bright lights, Bug City, he travels to Bug Central Station, in the [citys] busy, buzzing hive . . . where the other termites wouldnt bug you. He lives in a flea bag hotel and even rooms with a family of bed bugs for whom he built . . . their very own beds. With no luck finding an architecture gig, he meets a sobbing houseless fly and a frantic ladybug that cries, My house is on fire and my children are gone! Inspired by adversity he draws plans and soon turns a junk-filled lot into a block of custom housing for his homeless friends. Fame and fortune follow and soon hes an international sensation and an inspiration to creative young termites everywhere. Printed on slick, thick paper, the book features arresting mixed-media collage illustrations that cleverly employ catalog and magazine photos, wood and cork veneers, blueprints, and touches of gouache. Like Ladens earlier solo work When Pigasso Met Mootisse (1998) and Private I Guana (1995), this entry is satire-heavy with abundant sight gags and snappy wordplay. There are ample references to skylines (New Yorks Empire State Building coexists with the Tower of Pisa, San Francisco cable cars and the Space Needle), news personalities (Barbara Waterbugs and Diane Spider) and architects (Hank Floyd Mite and Fleas Van Der Rohe). Fun for those in elementary school who just cant hold out for the next Scieska and Smith collaboration or who will love to discover the hidden pictures-within-the-pictures. Buy for Ladens many adult fans or those who particularly admire her wry illustrations for Walter Deans Myerss new Blues of Flats Brown (p. 121). (Picture book. 7-9)
Booklist Review
Gr. 2^-4, younger for reading aloud. While playing with his wood-chip dinner, prodigy termite Roberto dreams of being an architect. He moves to the city, where he tries to find a job with famous designers but all reject him. Wandering home, he meets swarms of disenfranchised, homeless bugs, and he decides to build a community for them. Planning and building the entire project himself, Roberto creates a sensation even before his identity is revealed, and once the secret is out, he becomes a legend. The lively text is filled with challenging words and some fun puns, although many of them, like the hilarious Hank Floyd Mite and Fleas Van Der Rohe, will be beyond the youngest readers. It's the elaborate, whimsical collages that are exceptional here. Nearly bursting from the pages, they combine painted, drawn, and photographed images in spreads that perfectly capture the energy of the city and the creative excitement of architecture, as well as irresistibly expressive bug characters. An architectural fantasy picture book for children who dream of building. --Gillian Engberg
