The Rescuer of Tiny Creatures

THREE STARRED REVIEWS2022 Nautilus Award Winner

“Joyful, brightly colored scenes…make every creepy crawly relatable…A first purchase for young reader collections.” - School Library Journal, starred review

“An original picture book and a rewarding read-aloud choice.” - Booklist, starred review*“This substantive story by Manley is both a STEM tale about insects and a lesson in staying true to oneself, as Roberta’s distinctive interest takes her from odd kid out to minor celebrity with a like-minded new friend.” - Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Empathy, problem solving, science, and newfound friendship mesh neatly here–and fit the bill for both social-emotional learning time and elementary-school science class.” - The Horn Book

Curtis Manley grew up interested in the birds, raccoons, and deer that lived in the woods near his home in western Pennsylvania. But over the years he began watching smaller things more carefully: tiny creatures with many legs-or no legs at all! His favorites include stripy specks, bumbly bees, and fireflies. Curtis lives near Seattle with his wife, their daughter, and a cat who is not exactly a rescuer of spiders.

Lucy Ruth Cummins is an author, an illustrator, and art director of children’s books. She wrote and illustrated A Hungry Lion, or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals, and Stumpkin. She is also the illustrator of books by other authors, including Truman by Jean Reidy. When she was nine years old, a bee crawled into her sneaker and stung her but she didn’t hold it against the bee. She was born in Montreal, raised in upstate New York, and lives with her little family in Brooklyn, New York.