"The Big Bug Ball" By: Dee Lillegard

The Big Bug Ball is a cute book, but not one of my favorites. It is about a big dance that all the bugs go to. Everyone is excited, except for the sow bug, who is worried because she doesn't know how to dance. Everyone seems to be joining in the fun, but she decides to stay to the side and hide. The other bugs try to get her to join in the fun, but she refuses to until another sow bug reaches out to her and they have fun dancing. I liked how the story mentioned characteristics of the bugs. For example, when the sow bug hides she curls up into a little ball, and the cockroaches eat all the food, and the termites eat the wooden table. The entire story also rhymes, which adds a little rhythm to the story.
The book has really cute pictures of the various bugs. It also is set up really cute because everyday items are used for the dance floor. The dance floor is made out of cards and a dots box, and lightning bugs are at the tops of forks for the lights around the floor. In addition to the the pictures the end pages are super cute! The end pages are green with dance steps to different bug dances.
The one thing that really bothered me about this book was that the whole interaction between the male and female sow bugs wasn't even mentioned in the text. The reader had to use the pictures to see that the two met, and started dancing together. I think that his character should have been introduced through text rather than entirely through illustration. Other than that I thought this was a cute book. I can see younger kids, such as kindergarten and 1st graders really enjoying this book.