Who Ate Steve?

An unknown narrator sets about trying to teach a lesson about size by using a bird called Marcel (he’s big) and a worm called Steve (he’s small). However, as we all know, teaching is never easy, particularly when one part of the lesson keeps trying to eat the other!

This is a fabulous book! The teacher/ narrator of the story speaks directly to both the reader as she (there is no indication of gender so I have chosen to use female pronouns) take the lesson and interacts with Marcel. As she grows increasingly frustrated with Marcel disrupting her lesson by trying to eat Steve, different styles and sizes of fonts are used to convey her feelings to the reader. A wonderfully tongue-in-cheek use of teacher-style phrases are used - I’m not going to tell you again…We are all waiting… and many teachers will recognise (and sympathise with!) her growing exasperation as she strives to finish her lesson!

The illustrations are just wonderful. Steve is small, sporting a little neckerchief and a red woolly hat whilst Marcel is comparatively big and smartly turned out with his plumage giving the effect of a tail coat and red trousers to go with his natty bowler and yellow scarf. The range of expressions their faces show are incredible, allowing the reader to seemingly beat the teacher in understanding/ predicting what is going on. The ending is just purrr-fect, leaving readers to either create their own sequel or decide whether they think Marcel got his just desserts!

As well as being a brilliant read, the book could be used to develop character profiles of Steve, Marcel and Felicity, developing inference skills through both pictures and text, and then draw and create their own characters and situations which they might be involved in. They might also enjoy creating a pop-up model where Steve comes out of the ground and then hides below it again or a Marcel whose wings flap and whose beak opens and closes! The possibilities are endless!