• Age: 6 to 18
• Grade: 1 to 12

Join acclaimed author Elise Gravel on a dazzling and revelatory tour of the insect world!
In The Bug Club, Elise Gravel shares all of her favourite and most interesting facts about these marvelous creatures, some of which are so unique and strange, you could almost imagine them living in outer space!
Most people know that spiders have eight eyes, but what about the caterpillar? These little critters have them beat with a whopping twelve! Did you know mosquitoes are attracted to smelly feet? That the honey bee has hair on her eyeballs? That butterfly feet double as noses? And grasshoppers have ears on their bellies? These are just some of the many things about bugs that make them endlessly enchanting. Elise’s inquisitiveness and charm pop off the page as she takes us on a walk through her mind—and the awe-inspiring natural wonders that exist right outside our doorsteps.
If you’re curious what the inside of a slug looks like, The Bug Club has got you covered. Not only does Elise answer these burning questions, but she draws it all beautifully and brightly in her signature cartoony style.
The followup to her award-winning The Mushroom Fan Club, where Elise shares her delightful and family friendly mushroom-hunting adventures, The Bug Club offers more activities and fun for the whole family. This time, the treasure is hiding just below a rock or that pile of fresh fall leaves.

ELISE GRAVEL a écrit et illustré une trentaine d’albums jeunesse. L’auteure use d’un humour mordant pour exprimer ses vues et éveiller le sens critique de ses jeunes lecteurs. En 2022, Elise a remporté le prix Vicky Metclaf, qui souligne le travail d’un auteur ou d’une auteure jeunesse. Elle a également reçu le prix du Gouverneur général en 2012 dans la catégorie illustrations pour son livre La clé à molette, de même que le prix Droits et Libertés et des droits de la jeunesse.

 

 

ELISE GRAVEL has won a Governor General's Award for illustration, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, the Rights and Freedoms Award from the Quebec Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse, two Applied Arts Awards and a Grafika Award. She also was short-listed for Mr. Christie's Book Award. She has written and illustrated over 30 books for children in both French and English including Not Me (Pas moi), Everybody! (Tout le monde! and It's My Body! (C'est mon corps!). Elise lives in Montreal, Quebec.

 

Elise Gravel's profile page

Gravel’s enthusiasm and wonder is infectious but even more so are her kooky illustrations.

The Toronto Star

If you’re not familiar with her art work, prepare to be charmed.

Youth Services Book Review

One peek inside this buzz-worthy book and readers will catch the entomology bug.

Canadian Children's Book Centre

Elise Gravel has created a wonderful book about her fascination with bugs. The hardcover feels like a glimpse inside a personal scrapbook, as though a knowledgeable and devoted friend is sharing their interest with the reader. [Her] enthusiasm is contagious.

School Library Journal

Throughout, the Quebec comic creator preaches a message of self-acceptance. She concedes at one point in the slender volume that she doesn’t 'draw very realistic insects.' Later on, she states: 'I sometimes have weird tastes.'...The Bug Club [is] an important book because the underlying message for kids is they should be unafraid to let their freak flag fly. Or, as it said on a bumper sticker that was popular when I was a young geek in the 1970s, 'Why be normal?'

London Free Press

If you’ve ever been asked about a stink bug or a scorpion fly, this is the book for you.

Winnipeg Free Press

For any child (or adult) who wants to know more about bugs, The Bug Club is a worthwhile addition to school and public library shelves.

Canadian Review of Materials

It’s so funny you hardly realize you’re learning!

OWL Kids

Have you ever met a kid who’s just REALLY into a particular topic, and they want to tell you EVERYTHING they know about dinosaurs/Tazmania/trains/Digimon? That’s the experience that awaits in this book, speaking to kids precisely on their level with an age-appropriate balance of gross-out facts and intriguing scientific detail. A copy of The Bug Club belongs in every school library.

The Stranger