Superworm

by Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler (Illustrator)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545591768
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	01/28/2014
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Axel Scheffler's award-winning books include Room on the Broom, The Snail and the Whale, and The Gruffalo. His illustrations have been published in more than 30 countries. He lives in London, England.

Julia Donaldson served as the UK Children's Laureate from 2011 to 2013 and has written many bestselling and beloved children's books, including The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, and Stick Man. She lives in West Sussex in the south of the UK.

Editorial Reviews

A word lover's delight in rousing, rhyming verse.

The New York Times Book Review - Sarah Harrison Smith

11/25/2013
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.)

Publishers Weekly

02/01/2014
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

School Library Journal

★ 2013-10-20
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)

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Superworm:

"A word lover's delight in rousing, rhyming verse."

— New York Times Book Review

"Ms. Donaldson's romping verse and Mr. Scheffler's colorful, comic illustrations combine to tell a story that makes perfect sense for all its mad improbability... Great fun to read aloud."

— Wall Street Journal

*"A tale of friendship and cooperation... The rhythmic rhyme will have audiences chanting along by the end of the story... Silly and slimy — superfun!"

— Kirkus Reviews, starred review

From the Publisher