The Very Ugly Bug

The first endpaper invites readers to become familiar with the heroine of this book, her wonky orange head supported by a hairy, scarlet body. ALL bugs are ugly, but this one takes the biscuit for ugliness. Run-of-the-mill bugs line up to admire ‘the coolest, most wicked’ bug imaginable. But being this different means she’s ripe target for hungry birds. Adding leaves and wings in an effort to appear like other bugs results in becoming more conspicuous, and, on turning the page, we spot a large bird zooming towards her. How she escapes being eaten is skilfully managed through text and pictures, with lots of searching on each page to see how the other bugs interact. Pichon uses clear descriptive language in the text, enabling the reader to anticipate action and also reflect on what the ugliest bug was attempting to do. The illustrations are simple in line, in bold, clear colours, creating a story that explores coming to terms with being different.