Ants in Your Pants, Worms in Your Plants!

Gilbert has trouble coming up with ideas. He couldn’t think of a springtime poem, and now he needs an idea for an Earth Day project! Everyone else in Mrs. Byrd’s class is busy working on posters about recycling, saving water, and electricity—but Gilbert wants to do something original. When a distressing class picnic becomes a source of inspiration, Gilbert finally comes up with an Earth Day project that even Mrs. Byrd thinks is the best idea yet!  

Gilbert is a loveable and relatable protagonist who has difficulty concentrating in class. Gilbert “wiggled, and jiggled and squirmed in his seat.” Throughout the day, he tries to come up with an Earth Day project, but he doesn’t have any good ideas. But then, Gilbert sits down and gives himself time to think, and he finds the perfect solution. Readers will be eager to see Gilbert’s Earth Day project, but it’s not revealed until the end of the story. This keeps readers in suspense as they learn about the other students’ projects. 

Readers will learn how simple actions can make a big impact in caring for the earth. From recycling to riding bikes, and turning off lights. All of the ideas presented are easy enough to be implemented by young readers. Gilbert’s project—planting a tree—shows that while the tree is small, “someday it will be big enough to shade this hill and make it a perfect place for a picnic.” Even though Ants in Your Pants, Worms in Your Plants! teaches the importance of caring for the planet, the lesson is never preachy. Instead, each character gives an example of how they can make the world better. 

Ants in Your Pants, Worms in Your Plants! is intended for readers five and older. Beginning readers will need help because of the book’s complex sentences and unfamiliar words. While the book is engaging, it will not make a good bedtime story due to the text-heavy pages, which have up to five long sentences. Each page has a full-page illustration that uses bright colors. The illustrations will help readers understand the plot as well as visualize the many animal characters.  

Learn about Earth Day and conservation by reading Ants in Your Pants, Worms in Your Plants! Much of the story’s action takes place at Gilbert’s school, but his two-parent family is also portrayed positively. When Gilbert is unable to come up with an Earth Day project, his family gives him suggestions, but Gilbert doesn’t use any of them. Instead, he uses quiet time to come up with his own idea. Ants in Your Pants, Worms in Your Plants! is an excellent book to read with a child. If you’d like to encourage readers to care for the earth, add Rocket Says Clean Up by Nathan Bryon to your reading list. If you’d like to introduce readers to more educational subjects, Mr. Tiffin’s Classroom Series by Margaret McNamara would be a good series to check out. 

Sexual Content  

• None 

Violence  

• None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

• None 

Language  

• None 

Supernatural 

• None 

Spiritual Content  

• None