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Summary
Summary
Louise is a stinkbug whose stench keeps most of the other bugs away. Not her best friend, Tara, though. And, unfortunately, not the biggest bully around-Kiki the cockroach. When Kiki threatens to flatten Louise if she dares to compete against her in the skating contest, Louise's confidence wavers. Luckily Tara is there to boost her back up. Louise wows the audience and Kiki's mean-spiritedness lands her on her rump. Cheer for Louise as she wins much more than a contest with her courage and heart.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Louise the stinkbug's odor has all of the other insects avoiding her ("Everyone scattered when she passed them./She didn't mean to, but she gassed them"). Only almost blind Termite Tara befriends her. When a skating contest is announced, the two decide Louise should enter, not to prove her skating prowess, but to defeat mean, bullying Kiki the roach. Louise emerges triumphant and the other bugs, impressed by her courage in taking on Kiki, unplug their noses and befriend her. Brace's acrylic-and-digital illustrations are whimsical and appealing. Unfortunately, the plot is both predictable and problematic. It is a foregone conclusion that Louise will win, and it is unfortunate that she is competing not to demonstrate her skill but to gain acceptance. Libraries owning Helen Lester's Hooway for Wodney Wat (Houghton, 1999) already have this theme covered.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this wishful story, an unpopular stinkbug named Louise competes against a nasty cockroach in, of all things, an ice-skating contest. Louise, who resembles a red-haired girl with a stinkbug's upturned nose and antennae, plays the plucky underdog who is avoided by her fellow insects: "Everyone scattered when she passed them./ She didn't mean to, but she gassed them." Bugs hold their noses when Louise does loops around the frozen birdbath that serves as a skating rink; Kiki the cockroach, a bloated blue meanie who terrorizes everyone, loves making fun of Louise's odor. At the urging of Termite Tara, her one true friend, Louise plans to beat Kiki at skating and prove herself to her peers: "If I could win, she thought, they'd see.../ There's more than stinkiness to me." Elya (Eight Animals Play Ball) never allows the rhyme scheme or the optimism of this narrative to waver; Louise wins easily when Kiki falls during the competition, and the fickle bugs cheer that she is "cheeky./ You stood up to that bully Kiki!" Brace (The Krazees) creates an assortment of bizarre but amiable insects with big heads, protruding eyes and noodly legs; he incorporates collage elements such as real dragonfly and butterfly wings plus dried leaves into his acrylic compositions. Yet despite the bouncy enthusiasm of the verse and pictures, the book offers no useful insights about playground politics. At most, this tale recommends that insecure students impress their peers by trouncing their cruelest detractors. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved