Going into this book, I had to work really hard not to be freaked out by the concept- a boy wakes up as a giant praying mantis and from the book summary, I had a pretty good guess that this was going to be a permanent situation. I really like bugs and I love praying mantises but I think my creep-out reaction was from reading Kafka's "Metamorphosis" as a teenager and since cockroaches are the one bug that freaks me out and Metamorphosis is a creepy story, I still shudder thinking of that book. Roger Mantis is a much better book! I love the positive message and the lessons taught. It's a good allegory for life and how sometimes we are given life changing problems that aren't going to go away but that doesn't mean life is over or we should moan and cry and give up. Roger learns about his new situation and looks for the good that can come from it. Definitely a great thing to teach kids and probably a story I'll read aloud to my kids.
PS to the author- Thank you so much for not turning Roger into a cockroach! ( )

Wow, this was fabulous!!! I read it to my second grade students and they loved it! They laughed and could relate to the "being different". We had discussions about what they would do if they turned into a giant bug. It was a wonderful flow of fun with a serious undertone. Highly entertaining. Thanks for writing this book! ( )

A cute book that was fun to read. it is entertaining and makes for a fun story.I like the baseball angle and how everyone reacts to him. ( )