Doug's Dung

February 14, 2020

K-Gr 2-Doug the dung beetle is not very tough. While the other beetles lift, pull, and push balls of dung around all day, Doug is not able to. Doug wants to be creative instead. He covers dung balls with flower petals and pollen. Pleased with his creations, he opens up a gallery for all the beetles to enjoy his work. At first the other beetles are not supportive. Realizing Doug's art brightens the garden, the other dung beetles-Dave, Doris, and Dan-praise Doug for his determination. In turn, Doug inspires his friends to be more creative. Digital illustrations of buggy-eyed beetles have subtle elements, such as belts, that characterize each and add charm. The prose is succinct, with select bolded words that could lead to discussions after reading the book. This book is an addition to the "Once Upon a Garden" series published by the American Psychological Association and is designed to build the emotional well-being of children. VERDICT This book successfully focuses on resilience characteristics in an age-appropriate and engaging manner, making it a worthy addition to both school and public libraries.-Mindy Hiatt, Salt Lake County Library Services

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2020
A budding artist searches for his strength. Doug the brown dung beetle appreciates nature. The other dung beetles say he needs to be "strong" and have "power." They take turns lifting a brown dumbbell. When Doug tries, he can't lift it, and the others tease him. Belinda the butterfly encourages Doug, reassuring him that he's "strong in another way." Petals floating on the breeze give Doug an idea. He covers a large ball of dung in an intricate petal mosaic. For another work of dung art, he uses a heap of bright yellow pollen. He continues to make unique art out of the brown spheres, building a little gallery to display his work. At first, he's still met with jeers, but he stays "determined" to do this thing that makes him happy. Eventually, the whole garden comes to appreciate his art, and the other dung beetles even make a sculpture to celebrate Doug and ask for lessons on creativity. The text avoids any crass poop jokes, not even defining "dung." Key message words ("determination," "resilience," etc.) appear repeatedly in boldface within the modest text, making the moral clear. The minimalist art gets its job done effectively. Predominant visual symmetry from page to page (the characters always face forward) makes for easy sight recognition for young readers. The large-eyed insects composed of simple shapes appear friendly while the earth-toned dung beetles cheerfully complement the brights of the garden--and thus Doug's art as well. Encouraging and judgement-free. (Picture book. 3-6)

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2020
Grades 1-3 Though natural history takes a back seat to life lessons in this Once Upon a Garden series entry, the illustrations and general context help to lighten the load. Dung beetles need both muscle and persistence to push big balls of brown stuff around, and Doug just can't match his burlier peers. A butterfly's comment that he's strong in another way, though, leads to the discovery that he has a true talent not for moving dung, but transforming it with flower petals and other bright natural materials. The other beetles scoff at first, but after seeing garden creatures flocking to marvel at the gallery of globular artistic creations Doug has produced, they come around, and even carve out a (brown) statue in tribute: Creativity is your strength! says one. Leo Lionni sent the same message in Frederick (1967) without feeling a need to make the takeaway concepts explicit, much less print them in boldface, but validating the work of young artists (and writers) is always worthwhile, and this iteration rolls along with plenty of alimentary appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)