Night of the Living Worms

Gr 1–3—This first chapter book series from Coverly, an internationally syndicated cartoonist whose "Speed Bump" cartoons appear in more than 400 newspapers, and the winner of the prestigious Reuben Award for Best Cartoonist, focuses on the travails of a bird named Speed Bump. Speed Bump's brother is the illustrious Early Bird, the one who always gets the worm. This isn't Speed Bump's only problem. He has a hard time waking up, his wings are tiny, his tail feathers are short, and his head is larger than his body. Fortunately, he has a great friend, Slingshot, who knows how to brighten Speed Bump's days. Together they have a life-changing adventure deep in the nighttime forest. Filled with subtle irony, wordplay, and gentle pokes at life, the text is accompanied by appealingly large, cartoon-style, black-and-white line drawings.