I liked the book, though it took me a few reads to find all the details. I don't mind that, however. I'm not the target audience and while I imagine many people my age might not like it due to how cluttered and confusing it may seem, I liked that it took multiple read throughs to get everything because when I was a kid I definitely enjoyed reading picture books over and over to find as many of the little details that I had missed the previous time that I could. Had this book come out when I was a kid, I would have likely enjoyed it. For the most part, it made me happy. I liked the cute illustrations and the way the bugs interacted with each other. Despite being so simple they were very expressive. I liked how small details would slowly ease in as the pages went by - I didn't notice that the spider was creeping its way towards the plant a page or so before it actually happened. I think the only thing I found odd about the book was the text itself. Because there was so much of it and it didn't actually say anything, sometimes it was a bit distracting but I didn't think it took away from the actual illustrations or story too much.
I guess one of the major themes in the book would be the circle of life. The scene of the book never changes: we are in the same spot throughout the whole thing, watching as a sapling grows into a large plant then dies but, eventually, begins to grow again. Not only that, but there are other elements to this story that exemplify that as well, such as the bug entering the cocoon at the beginning of the story then leaving as a beautiful moth by the end. Along with that, I think there was also themes of general relationships. While we didn't get to know a lot of the bugs personally and never even got to learn any names, quite a few of the relationships were pretty clear. The grasshopper was lonely and looking for companionship - we first see him sitting on the log playing the violin by himself looking rather sad, but the next time we see him, he's playing with the recently-hatched moth and he looks much happier - even the music he was playing changed from flats to sharps. There's also the big roly poly that lives in the log. He seems like the older, reliable type, and this is shown by the other bugs relying on him for help as they build their homes, such as borrowing a ladder and a lawn chair from him.
It's hard to grasp what this book might be trying to tell us due to the lack of actual text and definitive conflict/resolution that most books have. I would guess that the book's theme of the circle of life means that the author is trying to tell us that life goes on, no matter what gets thrown at us. There's quite a bit of conflicts that occur within the book; from the bugs wanting to build a new home, needing help with that feat, having their home destroyed, etc, one thing remains consistent: they find ways around this without needless complication or drama. When they needed tools to build the house, they immediately asked the roly poly for help. When their house got torn down by the spider they were sad, sure, but they eventually moved on to what we can assume is another new home. And the plant died, but despite that it grew again and the world moved on. The author was likely trying to showcase that life has both huge and little problems but no matter what you will get past them and move on, as the world does.
The illustrations are incredibly detailed. They are the main thing moving the story along seeing how it becomes clear pretty early on that the text is mostly nonsense. Through the illustrations we get a setting of story, setting, and characterization. We see the progression of time as days and nights pass, as the plant grows bigger and gets more inhabitants, and eventually when the plant dies and the bugs are forced to find a new home, then, lastly, when the plant begins to grow anew. The illustrations also provide characterization as all of the characters have quite a bit of thought and detail put into them We know nothing about most of them but they're very expressive and the illustration went so far as to give them little humanizing details like the buttons and shoes on the grasshopper and the hat and pipe that the roly poly has. Aside from that, the illustrations are just pleasing to look at. Because this is a children's picture book likely made for beginning readers and children who don't read yet, I think the illustrations are successful as a tool of showing narrative as well as sparking interest. As I said earlier, I think the illustrations have a lot to offer children. I keep noticing new things every time I flip through this book, and I feel like that was intentional on the illustrator's part in ensuring that readers stay interested and intrigued.
As for the text, it was a little confusing it what it was trying to convey. Nothing in the book makes any actual sense. All of the bugs speak in a made up nonsense language and because of this I quickly turned out the text and instead focused all of my attention on the illustrations. However, I think there was a purpose to the nonsense text. As I said earlier, it was probably comforting for children who don't know how to read yet, to them coherent sentences are likely the same to nonsensical ones, so I imagine it would be comforting to read a book where the words are as lost on your parents or older siblings as they are on you. Going off of that, it was mentioned in class that this book would be extremely helpful for kids who are immigrants and don't know English or children who are multilingual and have a firm grasp on the language they hear at home but not so much on the language they hear at school. When I took French in high school, our teacher dedicated 20 minutes of the class to reading books in French and despite being in high school the selection she had us pick from were predominately children's picture books. I read Green Eggs and Ham in French and it was amazing how little I understood from a book I can so easily grasp in English. So I guess the confusing text in this book might have been there to make the reading experience equal for all readers. English speaking readers would be just as lost by the nonsense words as a reader who doesn't know a word of English. It would also help English readers understand what media - even simple media like a children's book - must be like through the eyes of someone who is just learning or doesn't know it. It's easy to forget how othering it can be to not know the dominant language when you're part of it.
While I ultimately think that most children would enjoy this book for the sake of the fun illustrations, I think this book might be a window or mirror based on the circle of life aspect. Not to get grim here, but children are going to run into problems and I can imagine this book being helpful when it comes to not getting overwhelmed about them. This book is, honestly, quite overwhelming. When the house is built and then the spider destroys it, it's overwhelming to look at the panicked but still unreadable text and the multiple illustrations going on at once. But despite the initial onslaught of panic, it eventually dissipates. The bugs move on and the plant eventually grows again. I think children could benefit from that message because, despite how scary and all encompassing a problem seems at the moment, ultimately it will end and they will be able to move on, because such is life. Something like that.
