The book is laced with humor that kept me laughing to the end. The illustrations are wonderful, colorful and fun. The little boy is mischievous at times, but is good to his friends. Throughout he talks about the advantages that worms bring to the earth such as airing soil and composting. This is a journal written by a young boy worm. I loved this book from the very first page. The endpapers are set up like a scrapbook or diary, with photos of Worm’s friends, family, and accomplishments – report cards, a web made for him by his friend, Spider, a comic strip – “taped” to the pages. The text looks almost like a printed font, and the entries are dated, like a real diary would be. The worm’s-eye view of the world provides a different point of view that young audiences will appreciate, and could lead to a good post-storytime discussion of how things look different from a worm’s point view as opposed to a human’s. Bliss uses watercolor and ink illustrations to bring Worm, his family and friends to life while not overly anthropomorphizing them, he does infuse them with personality.

The artwork adds to the appeal of the book. The story includes facts about earthworm behavior that gives young audiences a fun lesson in science: earthworms dig tunnels that help the earth breathe worms cannot walk upside down, and worms have no teeth being just a few fun factoids to take away. His observations are often very funny, as when he talks about spending the day above ground with his family after a rainstorm, and then notes, “Hopscotch is a very dangerous game”, with illustrations from a worm’s point of view. A young worm journals his daily life, writing about his friends, his family, and the pluses and minuses of being a worm.

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin