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Beetle Power! (Bug Buddies) by Joe Miller (view source)
Revision as of 08:28, 23 September 2009
, 08:28, 23 September 2009Created page with '{{infobox |title=Beetle Power! (Bug Buddies) |author=Joe Miller |reviewer=Keith Dudhnath |genre=Confident Readers |summary=The latest book in the Bug Buddies series continues the…'
{{infobox
|title=Beetle Power! (Bug Buddies)
|author=Joe Miller
|reviewer=Keith Dudhnath
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=The latest book in the Bug Buddies series continues the insect-based action. Ok, so it's light froth, but it's pleasant enough and newly confident readers will plough through it.
|rating=3
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Maybe
|format=Paperback
|pages=96
|publisher=HarperCollins Children's Books
|date=September 2009
|isbn=978-0007322473
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>000732247X</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>000732247X</amazonus>
}}
In the [[The Big Game (Bug Buddies) by Joe Miller|first book in the Bug Buddies series]] we met Zap, Buzz, Lurch and Crunch - insects living in Spinner's Wood. Five books later, they're still doing battle with the evil spider Spinner, and receiving wise advice from Gonzo. This time, everything's coming to a head as either Gonzo or Spinner will have to leave the wood for good.
I like the basic concept of the ''Bug Buddies'' books - the cast of insect characters has a lot of potential to offer something a bit different. The stories themselves are enjoyable, action-packed adventure romps, which keep the pages turning. They're not the greatest books ever, but for a little light reading, newly confident readers will plough through them.
A few more nods to the insect world wouldn't have gone amiss. On the one hand, the characters do need to be easy to identify with for the young audience, but on the other they need to stand out from other series about gangs of friends, robots, what have you. It wouldn't take much, but it would be nice if ''Beetle Power'' broke out of the well-trodden ground a bit more often.
It seems a bit mean to knock a book in a series for being, well, like a book in a series. It's not the sort of book you'll read again and again, but it's pleasant enough. The vocabulary is clear and the story is engaging, so children starting to read for themselves will enjoy themselves. As with the first book in the series, it does feel like the novelisation of a cartoon, but sometimes a bit of light froth is just the ticket.
Thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.
For other action-packed romps, check out [[It's Them Monkey Pirates Again! by Mark Skelton and Ben Redlich]] and [[Pongwiffy Back on Track by Kaye Umansky]]. If creepy-crawlies are your thing, you'll love [[Wonderful Wriggly Worm Rides Again by Eugenie Summerfield]].
{{amazontext|amazon=000732247X}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=6679934}}
{{commenthead}}
|title=Beetle Power! (Bug Buddies)
|author=Joe Miller
|reviewer=Keith Dudhnath
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=The latest book in the Bug Buddies series continues the insect-based action. Ok, so it's light froth, but it's pleasant enough and newly confident readers will plough through it.
|rating=3
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Maybe
|format=Paperback
|pages=96
|publisher=HarperCollins Children's Books
|date=September 2009
|isbn=978-0007322473
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>000732247X</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>000732247X</amazonus>
}}
In the [[The Big Game (Bug Buddies) by Joe Miller|first book in the Bug Buddies series]] we met Zap, Buzz, Lurch and Crunch - insects living in Spinner's Wood. Five books later, they're still doing battle with the evil spider Spinner, and receiving wise advice from Gonzo. This time, everything's coming to a head as either Gonzo or Spinner will have to leave the wood for good.
I like the basic concept of the ''Bug Buddies'' books - the cast of insect characters has a lot of potential to offer something a bit different. The stories themselves are enjoyable, action-packed adventure romps, which keep the pages turning. They're not the greatest books ever, but for a little light reading, newly confident readers will plough through them.
A few more nods to the insect world wouldn't have gone amiss. On the one hand, the characters do need to be easy to identify with for the young audience, but on the other they need to stand out from other series about gangs of friends, robots, what have you. It wouldn't take much, but it would be nice if ''Beetle Power'' broke out of the well-trodden ground a bit more often.
It seems a bit mean to knock a book in a series for being, well, like a book in a series. It's not the sort of book you'll read again and again, but it's pleasant enough. The vocabulary is clear and the story is engaging, so children starting to read for themselves will enjoy themselves. As with the first book in the series, it does feel like the novelisation of a cartoon, but sometimes a bit of light froth is just the ticket.
Thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.
For other action-packed romps, check out [[It's Them Monkey Pirates Again! by Mark Skelton and Ben Redlich]] and [[Pongwiffy Back on Track by Kaye Umansky]]. If creepy-crawlies are your thing, you'll love [[Wonderful Wriggly Worm Rides Again by Eugenie Summerfield]].
{{amazontext|amazon=000732247X}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=6679934}}
{{commenthead}}