Freda and the Blue Beetle

Dark-haired Freda lives alone in a community of farmers and shepherds who are full of gloomy predictions. She ignores them, finding "that not listening... often led to wonderful discoveries"--Gilmore paints Freda cavorting with walruses in the local bay. Then she happens upon a periwinkle-blue beetle. "It'll bite your toes while you sleep," the townsfolk warn; Freda takes him home and names him Ernest. He grows quickly and proves a capable laborer, able to do almost anything--but he keeps eating, and sometimes consuming food that isn't his, infuriating the townsfolk. In the story's darkest moment, remorseful Freda abandons Ernest in the forest before justice eventually triumphs. Gilmore's lilting storybook prose ("she took a measured breath, and whispered to the wind") is paired with earth-toned paintings that enliven the small village, its inhabitants, and Ernest's marvelous deeds (in one moment, he watches over sheep by night). Gilmore's (Little Doctor and the Fearless Beast) fantasy is both startling and believable as Freda and her faithful companion stand fast against the small-minded elders who threaten them: "Sometimes we should only listen to ourselves." Ages 4-8. (Apr.)

K-Gr 2—Who knows what might happen when one cares for a stray animal? Independent Freda doesn't listen to the dire warnings of the townsfolk, and so begins her rescue of a beetle with a broken wing. "It'll bite your toes, while you sleep," they told her. Freda's care for the beetle she names Ernest leads him to become "strong and blue as a winter's morning." Ernest grows so strong and so large that he does amazing work in the rural town. "Ernest felled trees and built their barns...and he toiled in their fields." Alas, Ernest's large appetite leads to banishment from the town. The folksy fantasy takes a rather contemporary turn here when all the residents become trapped in an underground shelter during a terrible storm. Italian author/artist Gilmore's watercolor scenes are both energetic and a bit dark in tone. Smaller oval or circular scenes are set on a few white pages, while full- and double-page views amply depict town, fields and forests, the wider geography, angry townsfolk, and the dark shelter that's finally pierced by shafts of light. Ernest's square, blue shape is impressive but not dominant until the concluding scene when he's truly gigantic. It's a fun adventure by a child who gets to have the last say. VERDICT A good blend of realism and make believe for early independent reading.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston