The Traveling Dustball by Judith Henderson, T.L. McBeth
Published by Kids Can Press on April 2nd 2019
ISBN: 1771387890
Pages: 56
Goodreads

“The Traveling Dustball” is the second book in the “BIG WORDS small stories” series written by Judith Henderson and illustrated by T. L. McBeth. It is a graphic novel series of very short stories/chapters with one BIG WORD sprinkled in each tale. The Sprinkle Fairy likes to sprinkle big words around the book for kids to learn, so readers get introduced to words like “brouhaha,” “lollygagging,” and “phenomenon.” Each word is sounded out on the page and defined at the end of each story.

The drawings in this graphic novel are simple and silly, reminiscent of Captain Underpants or Dog Man’s stick figure illustrations. Each story is short and very silly. The main characters, Davey (a boy) and Abigail (a dog) get into a bunch of funny situations, starting with the discovery of a giant dustball that can take them wherever they want! Written for kids aged 5 through 8, kids will enjoy the funny stories and drawings and might pick up a few BIG WORDS along the way.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook.