Bug Scouts: Out in the Wild! | Review

Bug Scouts: Out In the Wild!
Writer/artist: Mike Lowery
Scholastic; $7.99

Today is Luna’s first day as a member of the Bug Scouts, which makes it a perfect day for readers to join as well. And just what is the Bug Scouts? Well, Bug Scouts is exactly what it sounds like; sort of like Scouts, but for bugs.

There’s Doug, some kind of small winged bug (scientific name: Somekindicus Bugicus); Abby, an earthworm who loves collecting badges above all other aspects of scouting, and Josh, a somewhat grumpy spider who is only here for the snacks. On the day we meet them, the Scouts are trying to earn their Practical Plants badge, by foraging for useful plants while on a hike.

Things don’t go quite according to plan, however, as their hike leads them to an encounter with a rana temporaria, the common name of which, the  Bug Scouts guide book helpfully explains, is a frog. And frogs like to eat bugs.

Lowery’s story, though divided into chapters, is quite short and fast-paced, with gags coming at a rate of about one per every two panels or so. His artwork, which should be familiar to readers from his illustration work, especially on his Everything Awesome series, is fun and simple.

If there’s a comics-reading badge, Bug Scouts would be a perfect book to earn it with.

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