The Worm Whisperer
Ellis Coffey’s life has its difficulties: Dad is injured and unemployed, but he can’t get back surgery until he finds $1,000 for the deductible; Mom works three jobs to make ends meet; and Ellis’ social life suffers because he spends after-school hours doing chores. Still, his love of animals convinces him he might be a worm whisperer, and he sets out to prove it by training a caterpillar for the annual Woolly Worm Race, where first prize is—you guessed it—$1,000. Naturally things don’t work out as expected, but Ellis learns that there is more than one way to reach a goal. Set in Banner Elk, North Carolina (where a Woolly Worm Festival occurs each fall), Hicks’ story provides plenty of local color as well as humor (Ellis can burp the national anthem). Side plots concerning a crush, a bully, and a teacher obsessed with vocabulary building enhance this story, and memorable scenes (Ellis and his caterpillar’s adventures in church, for example) make this a great read-aloud. Hatke's genial spot illustrations are standard but welcome. Grades 3-5. --Kay Weisman