Stephen and the Beetle

Gr 1–2—The illustrations in this book introduce a few moments in time through a series of images done in a variety of mediums-acrylic, ink, pencil, oil pastel, and collage-in a basic palette of gray, black, and yellow. Readers first see Stephen from afar as he enters his garden and notices a rhinoceros beetle, encircled by a mysterious reddish haze that follows it throughout the book. His first instinct is to raise a shoe and clobber the bug, but then he pauses and stretches out on the ground to watch it eye to eye. Page after page, with a range of perspectives, the insect is shown as it makes its way past the boy's sock-clad foot, growing larger and then enormous in Stephen's eyes as he imagines it as "a terrible triceratops that lifted its glistening horns, [and] waved its huge hoofs in the air." Art that presents the beetle with the fascination and imagination of a young child completes the journey with a haze of green lines, a curtain of grass as the beetle makes its way to the "furthest corner of the garden." A simple story enhanced by a brief, thoughtful text with a sophisticated presentation, this book would be most effective as a suspenseful read-aloud, to continue discussion after the reading, spur a bit of beetle research, and encourage readers to see beyond its neutral cover.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX