Stephen and the Beetle

June 25, 2012
A small backyard encounter becomes the basis for big questions in this striking lesson in compassion. When Stephen sees a horned beetle behind his house, he doesn’t hesitate: “He took off his shoe and raised his arm.” Carrer’s naïf mixed-media illustrations show the boy, drawn in ink-scrawled outline, holding the shoe over his head, a giant stonelike oval hanging off its edge, as if to emphasize the shoe’s transformation into a deadly weapon. Before Stephen does the deed, “suddenly a thought came into his head. Where was the beetle going, anyway?” It’s a turning point, and the more consideration Stephen gives the beetle, the larger and more detailed Carrer (Otto Carrotto) draws it. She highlights its strangeness in scenes that culminate in a frightening black-and-yellow portrait of the beetle that looks like it’s about to attack. It doesn’t, though, and simply continues on its way, as does Stephen. With haunting lines like “The beetle went on about its business. It had no idea what was about to happen,” Luján (Doggy Slippers) hints that, to some larger, greater forces, human lives may be similarly insignificant. Ages 2–5.

Starred review from July 15, 2012
A small boy's response to a beetle in the garden triggers profound moral questions in this arresting visual tour de force. When Stephen spies a wee beetle in his garden, he instinctively removes his shoe and raises his arm to crush it. Oblivious to its impending demise, the beetle goes "on about its business." Then Stephen pauses and wonders where the beetle is going and what it is doing. He muses, "If I drop my shoe...the day will go on just the same, except for one small thing." Instead of killing the beetle, Stephen lays his head on the ground and observes it. Up close, the beetle resembles a "terrible triceratops" poised for attack. Then the beetle seems to remember something and walks off. This simple yet powerful life-or-death drama between the boy and the beetle is vividly captured in Carrer's striking, highly original acrylic, ink pencil, oil pastel and collage illustrations. Using naive outlines, Expressionistic color washes, open spaces and constantly changing perspectives, she creates tension between the aggressive boy and the passive beetle. Initially Stephen dominates the page, but following the existential moment of choice when he realizes the consequences of his intended action, the beetle becomes the visual focus, eventually assuming gargantuan proportions during their eye-to-eye standoff. A memorable lesson in mindfulness. (Picture book. 2-5)

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November 1, 2012

Gr 1-2-The illustrations in this book introduce a few moments in time through a series of images done in a variety of mediums-acrylic, ink, pencil, oil pastel, and collage-in a basic palette of gray, black, and yellow. Readers first see Stephen from afar as he enters his garden and notices a rhinoceros beetle, encircled by a mysterious reddish haze that follows it throughout the book. His first instinct is to raise a shoe and clobber the bug, but then he pauses and stretches out on the ground to watch it eye to eye. Page after page, with a range of perspectives, the insect is shown as it makes its way past the boy's sock-clad foot, growing larger and then enormous in Stephen's eyes as he imagines it as "a terrible triceratops that lifted its glistening horns, [and] waved its huge hoofs in the air." Art that presents the beetle with the fascination and imagination of a young child completes the journey with a haze of green lines, a curtain of grass as the beetle makes its way to the "furthest corner of the garden." A simple story enhanced by a brief, thoughtful text with a sophisticated presentation, this book would be most effective as a suspenseful read-aloud, to continue discussion after the reading, spur a bit of beetle research, and encourage readers to see beyond its neutral cover.-Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2012
Grades K-2 In this peculiar offering about empathy, Stephen spots a beetle and removes his shoe to squash it. But then he pauses: If I drop my shoe, thought Stephen, the day will go on just the same, except for one small thing. Instead, he lies down and watches the beetle rear up on its legs for defense before seeming to come to a similar conclusion and continue along its peaceful path. This has a non-American feel in both look and style, thanks in part to the lack of a traditional endingnot to mention distinct characters or a real plot. It is not without its curious charms, however, thanks to Carrer's veritable portfolio of illustrations, with almost every page approaching the subject from a fresh point of view. Some pages are spare, with a scribbled Peter floating in a sea of white; others are sketched with nudges of chalk; still others are abstract Rorschach blotches; and possibly the most arresting image is a searing close-up of the beetle that looks like a photo negative: a terrible triceratops that lifted its glistening horns. Idiosyncratic stuff for an idiosyncratic kid.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)