One Mean Ant with Fly and Flea by Arthur Yorinks, Sergio Ruzzier
Published by Candlewick Press on October 13, 2020
ISBN: 0763683957
Pages: 48
Genres: Animals, Humor
Format: Picture Book Fiction
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The mean ant is back, this time joined by frenemies the fly and the flea. The mean ant is really mean (“Oh, do you have to keep talking?”, “‘Are you blind?’ asked the ant. ‘That spider is…just a spot.”, “‘Yes, you!’ shouted the ant. ‘Of course, you! You flea-brain!”) and has few redeeming qualities. While the watercolor illustrations are lovely and evoke a feeling of being in the desert at sunset, the humor is just a bit off the mark in this book. Throughout the book, the author tries to make a joke about “a bug in a rug” but it never really lands. This book would be most useful as a discussion piece about how bad the ant is and to do the opposite of what the ant does! 

Reviewed by Savannah Sessions, District Elementary Librarian, RSU #17 (Oxford Hills)