Customer Reviews

The Mushroom Center Disaster

5 star:		(4)
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Written some three decades ago by the Danish poet N.M. Bodecker, and charmingly illustrated in black-and-white ink drawings by his friend Erik Blegvad, this little book is a tiny overlooked jewel.

The story follows a beetle and his new community of ladybugs, crickets, ants, moths, caterpillars, and other insects as they repair the damage done to their cozy community of mushroom houses by litter dumped in their little corner of the woods. It's a hopeful, none-too-serious tale about recycling and making the best of a bad thing.

A great read-aloud for kids aged 4 and up, and a good short read for ages 7 and up. (Estimated reading level, grade 2-3, but it's a rather short story).

What a sweet book to read aloud to your kids! If you have just read the Lorax, and your kids like to hear longer stories, try this story about a community of insects that has to deal with a major pollution disaster -- a bagful of trash dumped on their village of mushroom-sized homes. I love Blegvad's illustrations, and the story is neither too long nor too short. It's about the same length and of a similar inspirational quality as "Elsie Piddock skips in her sleep". It is an amazing work of craft to convey this anti-pollution message without any didacticism. Good for both insect-lovers and those who are insect-averse.

I read this book as a child in the 70s. It was one of my favorites, and to this day I could probably recount the entire story by heart. Truly a treasure, with wonderful drawings and characters, and an excellent message for children. Buy it for a child you love. They will remember it.

I am a substitute teacher and I was in for a librarian. I found this book on the shelf and was automatically drawn to the cover and the title! The friendly community of insects coming together to clean up their neighborhood is so charming! I read it to myself, but it would be a great read-aloud! Probably for 2 sittings, the book is short, but not that short. A great book I'd reccomend for themes like community, Earth Day, or keeping the Earth clean!