Review of Monster Bugs
by Caleb Powell (with a little help from Mommy and Daddy)


It's Raining Laughter, by Nikki Grimes (Photographs by Myles C. Pinkney) is about kids telling poems about what they are and what they do and what they want to do. One boy says: "I'm a hang-glider, a wild-wave rider, a steep-cliff climber. Someday there'll be poems about me blazing new trails just because I could." (I changed the ending to "...just because I could BE ME.")

My second favorite type of bug in this book is the killer bee. I learned that killer bees sting badly, though. A man got stung 2000 times by a killer bee and a dog got "stung to death."

My third favorite bug in this book is the Australian walking stick because it is the longest bug and it can hide quietly (like me). The heaviest bug in this book is the goliath beetle from Africa. It's as heavy as two eggs.

My fourth favorite bug in Monster Bugs is the tarantula hawk which is a type of wasp and is the tarantula's worst enemy. A baby tarantula hawk can eat a tarantula alive.

My mom says the illustrations in this book by Pamela Johnson are perfect.



Caleb is a 7-year-old first-grader who is doing very well in school. He enjoys the outdoors and welcomes every opportunity to play outside with his friends. He is an avid football fan and plays Flag Football, Soccer and Basketball. Because of his high interest in football, his parents are currently helping him to master the names of the United States by matching states to the names of professional and college football teams. Caleb's thoroughly enjoying that lesson!



August 15, 2003