Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Oakdale Library | EASY DON | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | EASY DON | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
A wacky and fun new adventure from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, starring a truly unforgettable hero!Toad in trouble? Beetle in a jam? Never fear -- Superworm is here! And he's wiggling to the rescue!But when Superworm is captured by a wicked Wizard Lizard, will his friends find a way to help their favorite superhero escape?From the creators of The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom , a super new adventure with a wriggly, squiggly hero you'll never forget.
Author Notes
Julia Catherine Donaldson was born on Sept. 16, 1948 in London. She is a British writer and playwright and the 2011-2013 Children's Laureate. She is known for her rhyming stories for children. These include: The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and Stick Man. She began writing songs for children's television but has focused on writing books when the words of one of her songs - A Squash and a Squeeze were made into a children's book in 1993. She has over 180 published works with 120 of them intended for school use and include her Songbirds phonic reading scheme, which is part of the Oxfird Reading Tree.
She has won several awards including: The Stockport Book Award for her title The Troll, The Oxfordshire Book Award for her title Zog and The Oldham Book Award for her title Jack and the Flumflum Tree. In 2015 The Gruffalo made The New Zealand Best Seller List.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The winning team behind The Gruffalo and other books casts a pink, squiggly worm as a superhero, then introduces a dastardly villain, Wizard Lizard, who captures Superworm for his own nefarious purposes. Since Superworm always uses his superpowers to help animals when they're in trouble ("Help! Disaster! Baby toad/ Has hopped onto a major road"), his neighbors conspire eagerly to free him, sneaking toward the villain's lair to rescue him ("They jump and fly and crawl and creep.../ and find the lizard fast asleep"). Scheffler's menagerie of insects and amphibians sport delightfully dorky, wide-eyed looks of terror when things go wrong and evident satisfaction when Wizard Lizard's magic spell is broken and Superworm is back among them. Donaldson's seamless verse has the gratifying, thumping predictability of nursery rhymes ("We must help him if we can./ We must hatch a cunning plan!"), and the action hurtles along nonstop. The fact that the hero is a creature that is usually thought of as frail and helpless carries an implicit message of its own. Ages 4-8. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Superworm (pictured as an extra-long pinkish earthworm with expressive googly eyes) is beloved by his many friends, including beetles, snails, and other creepy-crawlies. He's popular for fashioning himself into a jump rope to entertain bored bees; rescuing a baby toad who strays into the road; and generally helping out. "Watch him wiggle! See him squirm! / Hip, hip, hooray for SUPERWORM!" Unfortunately, he catches the attention of Wizard Lizard, who kidnaps him and forces him to dig for treasure. Never fear. Although Superworm's friends may be small, they successfully conspire to rescue their pal using their own honey-making and web-building skills plus a little ingenuity. It's some old-fashioned storytelling, with snappy rhyming couplets and a bad guy with a threatening henchman, but Donaldson spruces things up with the particulars of a heroic worm whose band of friends includes an earwig, a slug, and beetles. Scheffler's pictures pop with strong lines and vibrant colors as well as sly small details to catch on subsequent readings. susan dove lempke (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Superworm is a popular member of his community. With his long, supple body, he can entertain by serving as a jump rope, a hula hoop, or a slide, while also being helpful by fishing fallen insects out of a well and becoming a lasso to save a baby toad from an impending bicycle accident. When the Wizard Lizard captures our hero in order to cast a spell and make him do the lizard's bidding, Superworm's many friends, including grasshoppers, snails, and honeybees, have to hatch a plan to save their buddy. Told in well-scanning, rhyming couplets, this tale of friends helping friends is a joy to read aloud and will be welcomed by children in group or one-on-one sharing. Saturated, boldly colored cartoon illustrations reveal googly-eyed insects who live together in harmony, once they rid themselves of a pesky lizard. Read this along with Crichtor (1958) by Tomi Ungerer for a storytime about long, lithe, and helpful characters.Read this title along with Crichtor for a storytime about helpful reptiles--Owen, Maryann Copyright 2014 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-The team behind The Gruffalo (Dial, 2005) returns with a slightly slimy superhero who will (literally) worm his way into your heart. It's Superworm! He rescues toads and beetles from peril and young bees from boredom. The insects clap and cheer for their very own invertebrate champion, inciting the ire of the Wizard Lizard and his henchman crow, who kidnap Superworm for their own sinister devices. The toads, slugs, earwigs, and other bugs band together to rescue the hero, with a cunning plan to wrap the villain in honey and spiderwebs and relegate him to the rubbish heap (the slugs help by eating the wizard's flower wand). All is right with the world as Superworm returns to act as swing, slide, and hula hoop for his adoring fans. The illustrations are charming and detailed (look for a gruffalo in the garbage dump), with earwigs and beetles managing to look entomologically accurate as well as cute and cuddly. The story line and rhyme are not as engaging as in Room on the Broom (Dial, 2001), but young insect lovers and fans of Doreen Cronin's Diary of a Worm (HarperCollins, 2003) and other buggy tales will be thoroughly entertained.-Martha Link Yesowitch, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, NC (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Toads and insects give a shout, and Superworm will help you out! "Superworm is super-long. / Superworm is super-strong. / Watch him wiggle! See him squirm! / Hip, hip, hooray for SUPERWORM!" When a baby toad jumps into the road, Superworm becomes a lasso and saves his bacon. When the bees become bored, Superworm makes a perfect jump-rope. When a beetle falls down a well, Superworm can fish her out. But what happens when the evil Wizard Lizard and his servant crow wormnap Superworm and cast a spell to make him do Wizard Lizard's bidding? "Action! Quickly! At the double! / Superworm's in frightful trouble! / We must help him if we can. / We must hatch a cunning plan!" All the garden creatures band together to capture Wizard Lizard and send him to the garbage dump, ensuring that Superworm will be back indeed to help his buggy friends in need. The British duo behind the Gruffalo books and Stick Man (2009) reteam to tell a tale of friendship and cooperation. The unlikely superhero with his googly eyes and winning smile will be hit, and the rhythmic rhyme will have audiences chanting along by the end of the story. At this point in their collaboration, Donaldson and Scheffler know exactly how to complement each other's work. Silly and slimy--superfun! (Picture book. 5-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
