The Slug (Disgusting Critters)
by Elise Gravel
Tundra Books (August 5, 2014)
Audience: Grades 1-4
Slugs (Mollusks) * Nonfiction
IndieBound | WorldCat
Description from Goodreads:
One in a series of humorous books about disgusting creatures, The Slug is a look at the land slug. It covers such topics as the slug's two pairs of tentacles, one pair for seeing, one pair for smelling (it can see you're a kid and smell like broccoli), its breathing hole (on the side of its head!), and its pretty gross mucous covering (in order to find a partner, the slug can follow another slug's mucous trail. True love!). Although silly and off-the-wall, The Slug contains real information that will tie in with curriculum.
Thoughts on this book:
Thank you Carrie Gelson for introducing me to this series by posting it on your blog. Once I saw this book, I started to track it down and finally ended up ordering it. Now that I have read the book, I can't wait to introduce it to students. And I do not really want to wait until I can fit it into the curriculum in order to introduced this one. (Who says I need an excuse for a read aloud?)
Elise Gravel has managed to take slugs and mix together solid facts with humor and cartoon-style illustrations and never looses the ick factor that often draws children to or repels them away from slugs. Written in a way that is easily accessible by a first grader through a read aloud or by a 3rd grader during independent reading, The Slug will engage students from start to end.
Whether Gravel talked about two pairs of tentacles (one for seeing and one for smelling & tasting) or a hole on the side of the slug's body that allows for breathing, readers gain information about the basic way a slug's body functions in order to live and survive. Gravel also talks in a limited manner about the life cycle of the slug, and why slugs are important to the environment.
If you cannot find a copy of this book at your local library or bookstore, I would suggesting asking them to order it. I would also not be surprised if after introducing this book to students that it never stays on your shelf for long.
Update/Note of Caution: A friend with more science background mentioned to me that the series seems to have some factual errors. I do not know if the errors are due to the translation from French to English or in the effort to make the book both simple & humorous. An author's note or additional resources at the end of the book may have provided more insight. Whereas, I will still likely use this book (it really is funny), I will instead make sure students are aware of inconsistencies that may be present in the individual books in the series.
Check out other books in this series -
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