Beetle McGrady Eats Bugs!

As Beetle's class learns about the food world, Beetle decorates the top of her food pyramid with an ant and--and faster than one can say "disgusting"--she's on her way to creating a new food group, living up to a dare to EAT an ant, and testing out more new taste thrills. It takes the arrival of Chef Suzanne and her delicious dishes to boost Beetle's failing sense of adventure. Jessica Almasy narrates with the energy needed to depict this second-grade classroom. Her voice rises and falls, speeds and slows in synch with Beetle's waxing and waning enthusiasm for food exploration. As various classmates, Almasy supports or taunts with childlike vigor. Enjoy Beetle's fun facts about insects and their nutritional value! A.R. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

February 28, 2005
A red-haired second grader who longs to be "a true pioneer" takes center stage in this tongue-in-cheek tale about edible entomological fare. When Beetle McGrady claims she'll "eat an ant in a second," her friends dare her to prove it. So she sets out to chart new culinary territory during "Fun with Food Week" in science class. "Beetle practiced her ant-eating on potato chips. Crunch
. She practiced on raisins. Squish
. But potato chips did not crawl. And raisins did not have legs." When she can't quite muster the courage to stomach a crawly critter, humorous watercolors depict Beetle as a forlorn blue anteater with pigtails. A scattering of purple and blue vignettes convey Beetle's wishes and thoughts, while a cartoon ant fitted out in parka and boots in the corners of several spreads offers its own droll reactions. Manning (Do Kangaroos Wear Seat Belts?
, reviewed above) presents Beetle and her classmates with slightly enlarged heads and missing teeth (the heroine is a kind of Alfred E. Neuman meets Pippi Longstocking). When Beetle at last conquers her fear (with a little help from an avant-garde chef) a final image portrays the smiling girl perched on top of the world, a forked caterpillar in one hand and a plate of insects in the other. Endpapers suggest some lighthearted tips for bug tasting. McDonald's (the Judy Moody series) comical fare is sure to elicit plenty of "eeews" alongside the laughs. Ages 4-up.