Buz

Title: Buz

Written and illustrated by Richard Egielski

Age: 3-7

Anyone who has ever worried about eating a spider in their sleep or has gone to a restaurant where there was a bug in their food will appreciate this book.

Buz is a mosquito-like bug (sorry but that's the extent of my entomology knowledge) who winds up on a spoonful of corn flakes entering a little boy's mouth and then gets stuck inside the little boy. The story is written from Buz's perspective as he tries to escape. The boy takes a trip to the doctor and is given two pills (the pills are illustrated on the book cover). These pills are chasing down Buz so they can eliminate him from the boy's body. Buz gets away when a flood arrives and sweeps him out the boy's ear and into the bathtub. When Buz is back home, he visits the doctor and learns that he has caught a germ!

This book can be read from two approaches. There is the literal approach: the boy has eaten a bug, that's gross. Alternatively, the boy has gotten sick which is known as "getting a bug". Going to the doctor can help alleviate the symptoms and taking a bath might be needed to break a fever, etc. I think readers will probably prefer the first one.

Questions to discuss after reading:

1) Why did the boy go to the doctor? Why do we go to the doctor's? (i.e. when sick/to get vaccines so we don't get sick/checkups)

2) What are pills for? What pills should you take? (this question is an opportunity to talk about only taking medicine that is given by a parent, guardian, relative, etc.)

3) What happens if we eat a bug? (this is an opportunity to discuss any concerns that the reader has about finding a bug in their food)

This book has great pictures: there are various levels of magnification/zoom to the illustrations. Sometimes we're focused on the little boy (where he seems small), sometimes we're focused on Buz (which makes the little boy seem huge); this variation in zoom makes the book dynamic and interesting for the kids.

PROGRAMMING IDEAS

Game Idea: Duck-duck-goose derivative called "Buz-Buz-Pill" where the child making the selection is Buz and the person they choose to have chase them is the pill.

Craft idea: Make a Buz costume for the kids to wear home. Have some construction paper cut to make a headband that sits comfortably on the children's heads. Have the kids cut out two eyeballs and glue them on the front of the headband. Provide some pipecleaners to make Buz's long nose (attach to construction paper beneath eyes) and his antennas (staple to headband as well). You'll be seeing Buz everywhere.