Evan Kuhlman

Hank the pill bug treks through the grass and across a sidewalk, eventually meeting up with his best friend Amelia, and the two embark on a day of adventure together. Flying over the Atlantic (running around the yard), waving to the Queen in England, landing in Paris, and then making their way back, they pass a busy day. As evening approaches, Hank heads home again...

A sweet story of a bug who enjoys the different perspective he gets riding on top of his human friend's helmet, and a little show more girl who likes to pretend she is her hero, Amelia Earhart, Hank's Big Day: The Story of a Bug is a picture-book celebration of friendship and imagination. The tale is engaging, and the artwork - created digitally - is colorful and cute. Recommended to all young bug-lovers, would-be aviators, and make-believe players. show less

Hank, a small pillbug, narrates his adventures throughout the day, including his playtime with his best pal, a girl named Amelia.

This book is honestly just okay. The beginning with Hank and his climbing up a stick, passing by a grasshopper, etc. was kind of dull. On the hand, the friendship between him and Amelia, especially their imaginative play as pilots, was really rather sweet. It was especially nice to see an African-American child in a leading role and not have the topic be race.

The show more illustrations are done well and the little aside-style notations are mostly funny. I could see this book being good as perhaps one of many in a classroom setting where the theme is either insects or friendship. show less

I picked this up because the children's librarian mentioned it--she said it was reviewed as a Wimpy Kid read-alike, but she had her doubts. I had some time on my hands, so I told her I'd let her know.

Answer: no, not really. It's a read-alike in the strictest sense, in that there are diary entries and pictures/comics that help tell the story, but that's where the similarities end. The pictures here aren't as well-integrated into the story (though they're still very good), and the subject show more matter is so radically different from the Wimpy Kid books that I can't imagine handing this to a WK fan and expecting them to like it. This claims to have some funny moments, and I'll agree that it has some lighter moments, but I wouldn't really call them funny. This is about a kid grieving his dad, not an average kid going about his day-to-day hijinks. The narrator (Finn) is depressed and morose, and even his happier entries are still sad.

None of this is to say it's a bad book--it's actually really good, if what you're looking for is something sad. It's still hopeful and peaceful, but all the same, really sad.

This walks that fine line between Children's and Teen books, so I added it to both my lists. show less

I guess if it gets a suburban kid interested in nature it's good? But why describe grasshoppers as scary, crickets as curious, etc.? Just describe something that's true about them, like a hoppy cricket and a noisy grasshopper. And why did the person's brother have to be playing with army men? I'd rather not mix love of nature with glorification of war, tyvm.