K-Gr 3 Houdini the caterpillar entertains a class of students with his amazing acts, including the vanishing leaf, the high-wire stick crawl, and his skin-shedding growth. With his flair for showmanship, he revels in his audience's appreciation. When new acts show up a turtle, spider, and plant and draw his crowds of children away, Houdini spices up his performances to make them even more dramatic. Alas, even this does not bring back the masses. Then one evening, inspired by posters depicting the stages of a caterpillar's life on the classroom wall, he attempts "his most daring act ever." His place in the spotlight is regained as his audience waits in anticipation for two weeks as he holds his pose without food or water and finally escapes his chrysalis and emerges as a butterfly "Ta-Da!" Pedersen's ink and watercolor cartoons are detailed without being fussy. Houdini's facial expressions demonstrate both the highs and lows of being a performer. Meanwhile, his captivated audience is shown drawing him, wearing homemade caterpillar antennae, imitating his chrysalis stage, and watching Houdini adoringly. The particulars of a caterpillar's life cycle are covered in detail in the author's note. This fun and informative story has a place in classrooms everywhere. Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

The metamorphosis from egg to caterpillar to butterfly is as thrilling as any fairy-tale transformation, and this picture book tells the astonishing science through the personal viewpoint of Houdini, a tiny caterpillar in a dynamic grade-school classroom. Big, clear artwork in watercolors and liquid inks shows the smiling, hungry little caterpillar basking in the attention from a teacher and pupils who make drawings of him and watch as he sheds his skin. Then he gets jealous when they switch attention to the turtle, the spider, and the plants, and a great illustration shows him seething ("What's the big deal?" he asks about the spider). Then Houdini hangs suspended in a small chrysalis; no food, no water, for almost two weeks; and the class watches with mounting suspense until he breaks free and the gorgeous butterfly fills the spread. On the next page, he flies free outside. An author's final note fills in the facts about the life cycle. The fantasy and the realism make the nature story fun for home and classroom. Rochman, Hazel. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.