Durgles, Imps and Jitterbees
Wendy Callaghan
Illustrated by: Wendy Callaghan, Debbie
Kiggen and Susan Bodendorfer
Wordbeams, 2000

Twiggle the Durgle is missing. The only ones who can go to look for her are two other children Wurgle and his sister Swiggle. The pair set out on their quest to locate Twiggle and soon run into Glimp the imp who has lost his clan. Twiggle is found, the children return home then set out again to help Glimp locate his clan. During their second quest the children meet a young Jitterbee who is also lost. At last all ends with everyone home, with his own family and happy again.

Suggestion: add a note stating your expected reading/interest level, this information is most helpful to parents and teachers for whom your book may have added appeal.

The premise of Durgles, Imps and Jitterbees: that only other children would be available to search for a missing playmate is one which should appeal to the 8 - 10 year old. Younger children might be frightened at the thought; where those in middle grades like to believe themselves capable to do nearly anything. The spiders, frogs and snakes out to eat the kiddies in the tale are more in line with the thinking of middle grades than having appeal to the K l crowd.

I believe the vocabulary used in Durgles, Imps and Jitterbees should be easily read by middle grades. Although the ongoing rhyming is something more often found in books intended for a younger audience, middle grade children often also like the cadence. Durgles, Imps and Jitterbees has few illustrations which leads me to believe the book is not intended for the K 1 set. I think Durgles, Imps and Jitterbees has value as a 'read alone' for middle grade youngsters who want to read a book 'just for fun.'