Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2005)

Young Fergal McNally died in the first episode. Now his brain (pickled, in a jar) has been stolen, and his siblings must get it back. Frantic pacing, a slapdash plot, and much silliness (each of the kids has a supernatural talent, such as turning into a jackal) will satisfy Lemony Snicket fans. Others will find the whole enterprise over-the-top.

Kirkus Reviews

Shreeve opens a Ready for Chapters series with this engaging tale of a bug forced into a horizon-expanding odyssey when his cozy burrow is taken over by a flea circus. Being a wumble-bug—"a home-loving creature you won't find in any book, except for this one of course"—Hector is understandably miffed to be forced out of his digs. Stuffing a backpack with gum, a pocketknife, and other necessities, he departs, little suspecting the discomfort, not to mention outright danger, he's about to face from a frantic mother hummingbird, a hungry bullfrog, and other residents of his bug-eat-bug world. The author keeps the tone light, though, tucking in tongue-in-cheek details—being six-legged, Hector can play a piano duet with himself—and bringing her wandering wumble-bug back, with mementos of his travels, to a home from which the fleas have departed as suddenly as they arrived. Levy's sketchy, full-page scenes (not really seen) provide a bug's-eye view of Hector, bumbling his way through one misadventure after another. Lighthearted, slightly challenging fare for easy reader graduates. (Fiction. 7-9)

School Library Journal (Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2004)

Gr 2-4 Hector, an imaginary "wumblebug," is evicted from his cozy hole in the ground when a noisy flea circus moves in. He ventures out in search of a new home and meets up with a variety of small critters and small adventures. After experiencing mishaps while trying to sleep in a variety of places, he finally decides, "I'm no water bug. Not a tree bug either, come to think of it. I'm a wumblebug, and I'm going home." Shreeve does a good job of evoking the early spring setting without overwhelming young readers with too much description. Amusing full-page, black-and-white pencil sketches appear throughout. With short sentences and brief chapters, this story is well pitched to beginning chapter-book readers. Shelley B. Sutherland, Niles Public Library District, IL