FICTION

One Mean Ant

by Arthur Yorinks (text) & illus. by Sergio Ruzzier
Candlewick. Feb. 2020. 48p. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780763683948.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 2–A hot-headed ant and a lovable fly are lost together in the middle of the desert. The ant, being extremely sour and rude, wants nothing to do with the fly, who has, well, the attention span of a fly. After the fly removes an actual thorn in the ant’s side, he then offers to fly them out of the desert. A surpising, yet open-ended ending may either delight or startle readers. The use of humor, visual gags, and idioms will go over many children’s heads but may charm adults. The mean ant is in fact very mean; however, the lesson showing kids that being mean doesn’t pay isn’t straightforward.
VERDICT An additional purchase–despite the picture book format, the tale is more suited to beginning readers.
Reviewed by Shana Shea, Windsor Public Library, CT , Mar 13, 2020

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