Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Just Itzy by Jana Krumwiede - OPTIONAL



Krumwiede, Lana  Just Itzy  Illustrated by Greg Pizzoli  Candlewick Press, 2015.  $15.99  PICTURE BOOK  Content: G.  

Itzy the spider is going off to school and wants to feel like a big boy.  He wants people to stop calling him Itzy Bitzy and he wants to be able to catch his own flies for lunch (and not eat the pre-packed lunch from his mom).  While at school he tries to catch a fly and stumbles across three different situations where his is the spider in the story: Miss Muffet eating her curds and whey, the old lady who swallowed a fly and of course Itzy Bitzy Spider.  He eventually catches two flies and feels like a big kid.   

The illustrations are cute and the cover attracted my kids’ attention, but the story is all over the place.  The story is aimed towards a younger audience, but not many kids have a foundation of the stories that are cross referenced throughout this book making it feel like a big jumbled mess.  All three of my kids (during two different readings) said at the end of the book—“that was stupid”-not eloquent, but it says it all.   

EL (K-3)-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson. 

No comments: