Bugged!

Science Solves It!®

by Michelle Knudsen, Blanche Sims (Illustrator)

Bzzzz! The mosquitoes are attacking and Riley’s on the run! Can he find a way to make himself bug-proof―once and for all?

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2008

About the author

Michelle Knudsen is a New York Times best-selling author of more than 50 books for young readers and a writer of speculative short fiction for adults. Her titles include the award-winning picture book Library Lion (Time magazine's 100 Best Children's Books of All Time) and the novels The Dragon of Trelian (VOYA Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers) and Evil Librarian (YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults; Sid Fleischman Humor Award). Her most recent books are the YA webcomic novelization Cursed Princess Club: A Most Unusual Princess and the middle grade novel Into the Wild Magic, which is a finalist for the 2025 Andre Norton Nebula Award(!). A lifelong musical theater lover, Michelle is thrilled that two of her books (Library Lion and Evil Librarian) have now been made into musicals! Visit her website for more information and upcoming performance dates. Michelle lives in Brooklyn, New York. Find her on Instagram @michelle.knudsen, Bluesky @michelleknudsen.bsky.social, or at michelleknudsen.com.

Reviews

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much nonfiction style text that often repeated what the character said or thought

[John Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those pesky mosquitoes have annoyed us all, but getting rid of them has always proved to be a battle that we have fought alone until now. Bugged! provides an adventuresome tale that takes the fight to a more scientific level.

Riley’s quest to make himself less attractive to mosquitoes takes a community-based approach with his friends and family. During the adventure Riley and the readers hypothesize about the various and sundry reasons that some are the perfect targets for these determined insects.

It is through the scientific testing that readers are exposed to a wealth of information concerning mosquitoes and the lore surrounding their behavior. The facts presented are fun and memorable, but point to additional areas of inquiry for the interested reader.

Early and emerging readers will benefit most from the book being read aloud in a communal setting. Independent readers will devour the simple story and find themselves captivated by it. The point of view is first person, and that has its own limitations in terms of the story, but that is exactly what will draw many students to begin their own investigative studies.

Perhaps the best use of this book will be as part of a classroom unit on insects. The connections across the curriculum are many and evident. Older students paired with younger readers will also find the book to be most useful. Parents who home school their children should also benefit from the affordable price and content that Bugged! provides.

Add this book with confidence to the classroom library or part of a science center and prepare for more inquiry.

4.5 out of 5

[Aleece · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about how mosquitoes are attracted to Riley and not attracted to his friends. So he winds up doing the mosquito dance to keep the bugs away from him. They research what could be the cause of the attraction and find that it is actually his smelly shoes but it also says that sometimes it is the certain smell of a person and sometimes they just like certain people.

[Terry]

he illustrations take up most of the page, limiting the text to a third (or less) of the space. This works well for the content. Through direct text (mostly conversation) and inset boxes, the author relays lots of information about mosquitoes and the scientific process.

We've got a nit to pick with this one. See what it is.