An Anty-War Story

June 25, 2018
Sweet-natured Douglas is the only ant in Antworld with a name; in the nursery, all the other ants just have “A” on their cribs. He yearns to fit in and be one of the many ants who carry food into the anthill in “a beautiful line,” but he has a different destiny: he, too, will march in a beautiful line, but as a soldier ant. Wearing a uniform and carrying a rifle, he will defend Antworld, making it “a safer place for all the little ants.” When war does come, however, it is a horrible human war that obliterates the anthill with an artillery barrage and a gray, blurry “BANG” that explodes across an entire spread. Ross (Our Kid) begins with a lighthearted, almost reportorial opening and watercolor scenes that are both whimsical and striking, surrounding the busy, cupcake-carrying ants with tones of red, brown, blue, and green. But the shift into war is so abrupt, ending with a somber wordless tribute to fallen soldiers, that the overall effect is disjointed and jarring. Ages 7–8.

July 15, 2018
The story of a soldier ant that's true to ant colonies while also an allegory of war.In Antworld, everyone has their role. But one tiny newborn ant is different. He has a name: Douglas. As Douglas grows, he watches others carry food in a long, beautiful line. He wants to join that line, but that is not his job. He is to be a soldier to protect Antworld from enemies. He is proud of his uniform and gets to march in a formation while a band plays and other ants wave flags. But when Antworld comes under attack, there is no more pomp and circumstance. Large shells whiz straight toward the anthill, dwarfing it. A smoky, gun-powdered "BANG" explodes across one spread. Ross then abruptly changes the narrative, with one double-page spread showing World War I soldiers advancing across a shattered, gray no man's land, the yellow of mustard gas and a smear of red in one corner the only spots of color; directly beneath the red is a typescript sentence: "The end." This is followed soberingly by a monument covered in nameless A's, with "Douglas" included. The cover shows a smiling, cartoonish ant with rainbow lettering for the clever title. But the immediacy of the ending is the antithesis of all that charm. That is what war can do. Change life in an instant. Layered and shocking; to be read with the knowledge that a conversation on war will surely follow. (Picture book. 6-10)

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