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The story of the week is Earthworm, written by Andrienne Soutter-Perrot and illustrated by Etienne Delessert. Soutter-Perrot wrote many different titles in the  My First Nature Book Series including: Cow, Gnat, Fire, Air, Earth, Water, Wolf, Toad and Egg among others. Etienne Delessert is a world renowned children’s illustrator who is perhaps best well known for his seminal Endless Party.

Criticized by some for writing and illustrating books that were more interesting to adults than children, he collaborated with the developmental psychologist Piaget to write “How the Mouse Was Hit on the Head by a Stone and So Discovered the World.”

While in Earthworm Etienne harnesses his prodigious talents to a relatively  naturalistic account of the earthworm, the garden path is never exactly a straight line with Delessert. I am afraid my primitive recording techniques will lose some of the brilliance and nuance of the small originals, so I urge you to seek out your own copy of Earthworm, or any other of Delessert’s many other books. Enjoy!

Quick bio of Delessert: http://www.etiennedelessert.com/bio.php

Etienne Delessert’s website: http://www.etiennedelessert.com/

Short bibliography of worm books for children:

An Earthworms Life, John Himmelman

Wiggling Worms at Work, Wendy Pfeffer

Wonderful Worms, Linda Glaser

Garden Wigglers, Nancy Lowen

The Worm, Elise Gravel

Yucky Worms, Vivian French

Worm Weather, Jean Taft

Earthworms, Claire Llewellyn

Earthworm, Andrienne Souter-Perrrot and Ettiene Delessert

Worms Eat My Garbage,  Mary Apelhof