Small Readers: Urgency Emergency: Itsy Bitsy Spider by Dosh Archer

I looked at a few of these titles before; they've been nominated for Cybils and they pop up periodically. Opinion seems to be divided - some don't care for the blocky, awkward illustrations with their odd perspectives, and they're definitely higher reading levels for easy readers. Others find their nursery rhyme-based humor charming and the quirky hospital adventures silly and delightful.

My book club kids fall into the latter group. I had to do a bit of digging (i.e. ask our inter-library loan librarian to request multiple copies) but the younger and lower-level readers quite happily picked out their favorites of the titles, going either by cover or ones they'd read before.

While the first title, Big Bad Wolf is hilarious, I think this one is my favorite (and apparently other libraries agree as it was the one I was able to get the most copies of). In this story, Doctor Glenda and Nurse Percy handle another emergency; poor Itsy Bitsy spider has hurt her head! The two professionals handle not only Itsy Bitsy's physical hurt, but talk Miss Muppet into overcoming her fears and making a new friend.

Verdict: If you are looking for humorous titles for intermediate readers, especially if you have a large homeschool population or other group likely to be familiar with traditional English nursery rhymes, these will definitely have an audience. A more urban or diverse population is less likely to click with them, but it wouldn't hurt to try one or two and see what the kids think. The female doctor is a nice touch of diversity as well.

ISBN: 9780807583586; Published 2013 by Albert Whitman; Purchased for the library