07/13/2015
In this half-comic, half-tragic tale, Watt (the Scaredy Squirrel series) portrays a bug that gets sucked into a canister vacuum and travels through Kübler-Ross's five stages of grief. Watt's muted spreads feature midcentury modern interiors and ersatz advertising, with no humans in sight. The bug (it appears to be a fruit fly) becomes trapped inside the prison of the vacuum along with the family dog's stuffed toy, a mute but comforting companion. In a long, pun-laden monologue, readers watch the fly express denial ("This is amazing!"), bargaining, anger ("No more Mr. Nice Fly!"), despair ("I'll be a prisoner forever"), and, finally, acceptance ("I don't wish to change a thing," it says, looking resigned). Outside the canister, the dog mirrors the same emotions with regard to its lost toy. The story may require some context-setting from adults ("What does bargaining mean?"), while the bug's fate—it survives, but in a strange new place—doesn't offer the consolation it might. But young readers, who are so often subjected to events they can't control, will easily sympathize with the fly. Ages 5–9. (Aug.)
A bug flies indoors, is sucked into a vacuum, and experiences the five stages of grief while entrapped. The narrative plays it straight, but the double-page spreads—over 40 of them—tell a far livelier story .... [Watt] includes a clever, visually parallel story about the household's dachshund, whose favorite toy, a knitted, button-eyed dog, suffers the same fate as the bug .... Another funny, visually rollicking work from the creator of Chester and Scaredy Squirrel." - Kirkus Reviews
“The double-page artwork cleverly illustrates these traumatic events with a muted palette and cute, cartoony characters. Much of the humor is tongue-in-cheek. There is plenty of detail in the illustrations that will evoke adult chuckles and encourage children to look closer .... The award-winning author of the “Scaredy Squirrel” series (Kids Can) is back with an equally engaging, if a bit more sophisticated, picture book to delight audiences.” - School Library Journal
”Mélanie Watt’s retro-styled illustrations are kitschy, cool, mid-modern masterpieces . . . Bug in a Vacuum is original, witty, and moving.” - Quill & Quire
“In a story heady and intellectually ambitious enough for a jaded adult, yet suited to a child’s down-to-earth appetites, a wide-eyed fly gets vacuumed up .... There’s a journey, yes, into the light, but it’s a happy ending that may just prompt sheer joy at the simple fact of being alive.” - The New York Times
“This book is so eloquently written and illustrated, so carefully and tenderly crafted. . . Highly recommended.” - The Globe and Mail
10/01/2015
K-Gr 3—A little bug is on top of the world (literally sitting on a globe), when tragedy strikes. His world goes dark as he gets sucked into a vacuum. Bug goes through the Kübler-Ross stages of grief with dramatic humor. At the same time, the household pet—a dog—loses its knitted toy buddy to the same vacuum. Dog also experiences a canine version of the same five stages, before all's well that ends well. The double-page artwork cleverly illustrates these traumatic events with a muted palette and cute, cartoony characters. Much of the humor is tongue-in-cheek. There is plenty of detail in the illustrations that will evoke adult chuckles and encourage children to look closer. VERDICT The award-winning author of the "Scaredy Squirrel" series (Kids Can) is back with an equally engaging, if a bit more sophisticated, picture book to delight audiences.—Mindy Whipple, West Jordan Library, UT
2015-06-06
A bug flies indoors, is sucked into a vacuum, and experiences the five stages of grief while entrapped. The narrative plays it straight, but the double-page spreads—over 40 of them—tell a far livelier story. When the fly's first imprisoned amid thick dust and sucked-up detritus, it denies and deflects: "Doesn't get much cozier than this… / Can't wait to tell my friends about this place!" Watt, formerly in advertising, packages each successively introduced stage as a product. "Bargaining" is a box of laundry detergent, while "Anger" is a retro-looking TV dinner. She includes a clever, visually parallel story about the household's dachshund, whose favorite toy, a knitted, button-eyed dog, suffers the same fate as the bug. As the highly dramatic insect emotes through the five stages, using the bits and pieces it's been sucked up with as imaginative props, the dog experiences them silently. In the "Anger" section, as the fly creates a ruckus inside, the dog attacks the vacuum, seeking his toy's liberation. The "Acceptance" phase coincides with the discarding of the now-busted machine at the dump. There, the toy is regurgitated, and the fly emerges through the proverbial tunnel of light. A final spread shows the dog cavorting with a new canine acquaintance, while above, its former toy warms a bird's nest of eggs. Another funny, visually rollicking work from the creator of Chester (2007) and Scaredy Squirrel (2006). (Picture book. 4-8)
