Come and peer into a miniature world of little puppets to see a delightful group of friends exploring their ever-changing home. As a kid one thing I was really interested in was that microcosmic world that’s going on around plants, and I thought other kids would also be interested in that. But this is the wild world, after all, and something horrible is waiting to swoop down-- booby voobeck! Children and adults alike can guess at what the 'bug words' might mean and in doing so, inadvertently create a narrative all by themselves. It stimulates conversation, discussion; children would have great fun giving the bugs names, describing their characters, predicting what might happen next and why in relation to what they already know of the world around them.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Because the story follows events shown in the pictures and some phrases are repeated, guessing what the bugs are saying is satisfying, but it also allows emergent readers to interpret the text on an equal footing to adults. And, honestly, if you think about it, picture books are full of words their audience doesn’t understand at first. The audio-book won the 2019 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook production from the American Library Association [2] The audiobook was written by Carson Ellis and narrated by Eli and Sebastian D’Amico, Burton, Galen and Laura Fott, Sarah Hart, Bella Higginbotham, Evelyn Hipp and Brian Hull.The entire story unfolds on the same small stretch of ground, where each new detail is integral to the scene at hand. In 2018, a short animated film version was released by Weston Woods Studios, a division of Scholastic, adapted, directed, and animated by Galen Fott. The story, told in an invented insect language, is about some bugs who discover a plant shoot emerging from the ground. Carson Ellis’s popular picture book is brought truly alive in this exquisitely made and beautifully paced show for children. The real excitement, though, happens when the plant suddenly produces a magnificent flower – or ‘gladdenboot’ in bug language.

A bold retro color palette and lots of white space allow a big beautiful story plenty of room to breathe. Viewers follow the unfurling of an exotic woodland plant through the actions and invented language of beautifully coiffed and clothed insects…This is certain to ignite readers’ interest and imaginings regarding their natural surroundings. Written entirely in the playful and amusing language of bugs, it isn’t necessary to speak fluent moth or ladybug to enjoy the growth and metamorphoses creatively combined through Carson Ellis’s delightful words and fanciful illustrations as the seasons subtly transform. Much discussion goes on in bug language and it is fun to guess what the creepy-crawlies might be saying.Ross Welford introduces Time Travelling with a Tortoise, the sequel to Time Travelling with a Hamster, and a whole new time travel adventure! Sentence construction is different in other languages and it’s really important that the gibberish phrases scan because that’s part of how a reader figures out what the bugs are saying, and working out what they are saying is part of the fun. Beneath a broadcloth sky, to a music-box tune, insects in hats or with spectacles emerge, chatting their own insect language, getting ready for whatever the new day brings.

Tak,” for instance, is the Swedish word for “thank,” although the spelling— “tack” —differs slightly. The pictures depict more than you initially might think so every time you read the story you find new details. This book was a total hit with my three year old who loved the made up language and would use the words. She has illustrated several children’s books and is both author and illustrator of the picturebook Home.When the plant grows taller and sprouts leaves, some young beetles arrive to gander, and soon—with the help of a pill bug named Icky—they wrangle a ladder and build a tree fort.