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  	Scholastic Book Guides: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears Includes: book summary and author information vocabulary-builders discussion questions reproducible graphic organizers and writing activities effective management ideas for whole class, small group, and independent instruction! $4.99 Teaching Guide and Reproducible | Grades 3-5

  
  Scholastic Book Guides: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
  Grades 3-5 $4.99
  
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  	Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Leo Dillon The fantastic team of renowned author and illustrators have created a wonderful rendition of the legend of the mosquito who tells a tale that sets off a disastrous chain reaction in the jungle. $6.95 Paperback Book | Grades 3-5

  
  Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
  Grades 3-5 $6.95
  

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

A West African Tale

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Author: Verna Aardema

Illustrator: Diane Dillon and Leo Dillon

Interest Level:
K-2

Lexile Framework:
770

Grade Level Equivalent:
4.2

Guided Reading Level:
N

Age:
5-7

Genre:
Fables, Folk Tales and Myths

Subject:
Insects, Africa, Communities and Ways of Life

In this West African folktale, retold by author Aardema, a mosquito brags to an iguana that he spied a farmer digging yams as big as mosquitoes. The iguana scoffs at such a notion and refuses to listen to anymore nonsense. Grumbling, he puts sticks in his ears and scuttles off through the reeds and sets off a chain reaction among a myriad of animals inhabiting the same landscape. The iguana offends a friendly python, who shoots down a rabbit hole and terrifies a rabbit. Seeing the rabbit scares a crow overhead, who spreads an alarm that danger is near. When a monkey reacts to the alarm, an owlet is killed, which sets off a wave of grieving in the mother owl so profound that she is unable to wake the sun each day with her hooting. The nights grow longer, and when the King Lion calls a meeting to get to the bottom of the situation, the chain of events is traced back to the source of all the trouble — the pesky mosquito. Finding the culprit satisfies the mother owl, who calls the sun back again. But, alas, the mosquito is forever plagued with a guilty conscience, compelling him to forever be a pest.

The vibrant neo-primitive illustrations, which earned this title a Caldecott medal in 1976, enhance and enlarge upon the tale. This is a timeless story sure to charm a wide range of readers and listeners.

Artist Diane Dillon is renowned for the enormous body of work she has produced with her husband and collaborator, Leo Dillon.

Leo and Diane Dillon have a unique method of work they describe as emanating from “a third artist” — something neither of them could produce alone, and in which no aspect can be attributed exclusively to one or the other.