Lots of Lice (HELLO READER LEVEL 3)

A humorous, easy-to-read rhyming book helps youngsters discover what lice are and how to protect themselves from them. Original.

Kindergarten-Grade 2?Here's a new twist?a silly rhyming story about that bane of school nurses, head lice! The enthusiastic creatures tell readers that they love to invade schools, where they can get "a-head," and encourage them to share combs and headphones. Complete with amusing cartoons, this lighthearted presentation shows children how lice live, how they spread, and how to stop them. Every elementary-school health center should have this title on hand for when the cooties pay a visit.?Sharon R. Pearce, formerly at San Antonio Public Library, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Told from the point of view of the "cootie" itself, this easy reader in the Hello Reader! Science series is both funny and informative. The rhyming text crams in lots of facts that will alert children about how lice are contracted and what to do about them. There is also information about the lice themselves and their life cycle: "Our oval eggs are known as nits / and nits can give your school nurse fits." Since a louse is relating the information, there is a tongue-in-cheek quality that hopefully most kids will get: "So don't be selfish. Lend! Lend! Lend! / Pass those headphones to a friend." The cheerful cartoon-style art shows lice dancing on heads and planning an invasion on a school dressed as soldiers. School libraries will especially want to own this when their own inevitable invasions come along. Clever. Ilene Cooper