FICTION

Ear Worm!

by Jo Knowles (text) & illus. by Galia Bernstein
Candlewick. Jan. 2022. 32p. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781536207835.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 2–Knowles attempts to explain what happens when people remember the words and melody of a song and sing it to themselves constantly. Throughout the book, a baby worm searches for the creature that put an ear worm in its head, meeting others with the same problem along the way. An owl, a squirrel, a chipmunk, and a rabbit all have their own ear worms. When the baby worm goes home for a nap, readers will smile to learn who is the source of the song. This one-joke tale does little to explain what an ear worm is, and the journey to understanding hints at a cumulative effect but never achieves a pace or rhythm.
VERDICT The analogy of an ear worm is not explained well enough for young readers or English language learners to comprehend; the idiom of an ear worm is totally lost in the story.
Reviewed by Tanya Haynes, Meyer Elementary/Lamar CISD, Stafford, TX , Nov 01, 2021

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