The Big Dreams of Small Creatures

The prose is beautiful . . . [and] readers may be drawn to the strong messages about environmentalism, friendship, and self-discovery. A slowly unfolding read for bug lovers and environmentalists.

Two kids at cross purposes intersect over insects in this environmentally invested novel from Black-ish writer and director Lerner. August, who cues as white and is often bullied at school, has big dreams of performing on stage. When a cockroach crawls into his costume during a school performance, though, Augie's reaction results in him "shirtless and gasping" on the stage floor, and a fly landing in his mouth soon sees him vomiting on his favorite teacher. Vowing revenge on insect-kind, Augie seeks a mysterious man rumored to have engineered a powerful pesticide. Meanwhile, anxious budding entomologist Eden, who has a white Jewish mother and a Black father, saves a wasp nest and finds that she can speak with the wasp queen via kazoo. Told of a school that focuses on communication between humans and insects, Eden begins a search for it, leading to the kids' connection. Expository third-person prose can sometimes feel heavy-handed, but the alternating arcs invest readers in a world where curiosity leads to discovery, empathy proves a key ingredient in multiple kinds of conflict, and interspecies bonding is portrayed as key to global survival. Ages 10-up. (Oct.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Praise for The Big Dreams of Small Creatures

In the delightful new book The Big Dreams of Small Creatures by Gail Lerner, a young girl named Eden Evans discovers she can speak Wasp: Yes, she can actually speak to them, with the help of a kazoo, but I digress. From that miraculous discovery to the thrilling roller coaster ending, Eden and August, who is terrified of insects and wants to destroy them, find conflict and adventure and a whole new world in the coexistence between humans and insects. What an enchanting and wondrous book for young readers. —Jamie Lee Curtis, actress and bestselling children's book author 

From fumbling fourth-grader August to introspective, independence-loving Eden and their friends, both human and insect, Gail Lerner's characters are a delight, full of heart and humor. The Big Dreams of Small Creatures is a whimsical adventure highlighting the wonders of the natural world—and our sometimes complicated relationship with it—and the importance of kindness, compassion, and seeing things through another's eyes. —Robert Beatty, author of the bestselling Serafina series and Willa series 

An extraordinary and entertaining cast of characters on a remarkable eco-mission. Hopeful, upbeat, and triumphant. Our world literally needs this story in it. —Lisa McMann, New York Times bestselling author of The Forgotten Five: Map of Flames

Gail Lerner's The Big Dreams of Small Creatures is heartfelt and humorous. Told from two often opposing but equally understandable perspectives, Lerner's wonderful debut middle grade novel has a staggeringly original concept, richly-drawn characters, a healthy dose of environmental optimism, and a touch of magic. Anyone who reads this lovely book will come away with a better appreciation for how everyone—and every thing—has a place in our world. —Stuart Gibbs, author of the bestselling FunJungle, Spy School, and Moon Base Alpha series