Try a Bite, Trilobite!

Gr 1-2–A great way to encourage children to read is to make available books at their level with characters or subjects that suit their interest. Geisel Honor winner Fenske does just that with his beginning reader titles, and this one is no exception. Much like in Green Eggs and Ham, Trilobite does not want to try Bug’s new dish, which appears to be a cupcake. Trilobite loves noodles, and that is that. In an increasingly heated discussion between the two, Bug tries many times to get Trilobite to eat the new food, and Trilobite gets evermore frustrated at Bug’s nonstop insistence. The text is written in the form of a beginning graphic novel, with speech bubbles much like in Mo Willems’s “Elephant & Piggie” books. This format will entice children who are drawn to the graphic style and feel. Fenske’s brightly drawn, expressive bugs are adorable, and the story flows and moves quickly.