Ewwwww! That's Awesome!

Elise Gravel's "Disgusting Critters" Series Bring Laughter, Learning

By Julia Cantrell, MLIS, Youth Librarian, Peggy Helmerich Library

Blending the absurd with honest to goodness facts, the Disgusting Critters series by Elise Gravel is an awesome series to recommend to young readers who like a little laughter with their learning. 

The cartoony illustrations and short, conversational tone, makes this narrative non-fiction book series a great pick for fans of the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems or the Fly Guy series by Tedd Arnold. 

Here is a ranked list of all the titles in the Disgusting Critters series. From “Oh, cute!” to “Oh, puke!” (But all AMAZING!)

Cute and misunderstood!

  1. The Bat – I love bats! Bats are cute and are excellent pest control! Get you a favorite animal that can do both. Also, some eat fruit, just like you! See, you're practically BFFs already.
  2. The Slug – The slug gets a bad rep because it is slimy and eats gardens. But surely, we can spare some lettuce for our little mollusk friends! They are just out here putting out their feelers, trying to be accepted. Relatable, right? 

Okay, but I wish I did not know that.

  1. The Toad – I loved learning about the toad, but one thing I learned was really disgusting! Want to find out what it was? Read this one and take a guess!
  2. The Fly – I think we’ve always known that flies are gross, and, yes, it turns out they are. Honestly, though, they don’t bother me much, and the silly jokes in this book made me laugh.

You can...stay over there. 

  1. The Worm – I don’t have an issue with earthworms, per se. Like the book says, they are very useful! But just the thought of parasitic worms or big ocean worms, that gives me the hermie wormies!
  2. The Spider – Spiders get a bad rep for sure, but I still don’t want them near me. Like, stay over there and eat bugs, please. Yes, over there. Way over there. Thank you.

Yucky pests!

  1. The Rat – I have to admit the cartoon rats in this book are pretty cute, but REAL rats? No, thank you!
  2. The Mosquito – Or should I say...NOsquito – I don’t want you around at all! 

RUN!

  1. The Cockroach – Not even the cute illustrations or funny jokes could make me feel anything less than disgusted about cockroaches. Eww!
  2. Head Lice – I now know more about lice than I did before reading this book and I like them even less! Like the book says: “The head louse is really useful for...NOTHING AT ALL!” so you should “RUN AWAY!”

Enjoy this series and more works by Elise Gravel. You will not be disappointed!