School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-Knowles attempts to explain what happens when people remember the words and melody of a song and sing it to themselves constantly. Throughout the book, a baby worm searches for the creature that put an ear worm in its head, meeting others with the same problem along the way. An owl, a squirrel, a chipmunk, and a rabbit all have their own ear worms. When the baby worm goes home for a nap, readers will smile to learn who is the source of the song. This one-joke tale does little to explain what an ear worm is, and the journey to understanding hints at a cumulative effect but never achieves a pace or rhythm. VERDICT The analogy of an ear worm is not explained well enough for young readers or English language learners to comprehend; the idiom of an ear worm is totally lost in the story.-Tanya Haynes, Meyer Elementary/Lamar CISD, Stafford, TX