The Icky Sticky Anteater

by Dawn Bentley, Carly Castillon (Illustrator)

This wonderfully original format has a sticky, stretchy, snappy, super fun, washable tongue and googly eyes right on the cover! Children will laugh out loud as they read the silly verse stories about an anteater who doesn't eat ants. The illustrations are so charming you won't be able to keep your hands off this hands-on entertaining book!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

18 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2000

Reviews

[Audric the Illiterate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok ok ok, I know, a surprisingly high rating for a book riddled with plot holes and a less-than-climatic resolution. But what can I say? I’m obsessed.

[Christina Bergstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Icky Sticky Anteater is a very cute children's book. It has a wrap around cover with googly eyes on the Anteater that is on the front cover. The colors on the cover are vibrant and enticing. When you open the cover the endpaper has a bright yellow background and is covered with ants. Across from this is a title page that also has a bright illustration of an Anteater on it with a question "Everone knows that anteaters eat ants, right? Well that's almost true. Almost, but not quite..." That is a nice intriguing lead in for the rest of the book. The illustrations are laid out in double page spreads. The text is written within the illustrations and is done in a nice sequencing pattern. I would use this book to teach sequencing..."what happens next". It can also be used to talk about same and different.

[Megan Kafka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rate The Icky Sticky Anteater by Daun Bentley and Illustrated by Carly Castillon as a 5-star picture book, appropriate for children aged between four to six. This is a story about an anteater who doesn’t like to eat ants. At first his fellow anteaters tell him that he must eat ants, but after trying to conform, he realizes that he is happy doing things his own way and his friends accept him for who he is.

This is a wonderful book with a colorful cover illustrating a purple anteater with googly eyes and a long tongue that children can touch adding to the sensory experience. The large font and short rhyming text along with the large colorful pictures make the story fun and interesting through to the end. Not only is the story fun and interactive, it also teaches children the importance of being yourself. Too often people feel they are held to expectations for how they should act or dress, or for the things they are expected to like. This story helps children to know that it is okay for them to be different and to do things their own way. Having an anteater as the main character is a perfect way to represent this lesson as everyone would naturally expect an anteater to eat ants. In today’s world, there is more focus on not placing stereotypes on young children, particularly with regard to gender roles. Allowing boys to play with dolls or girls to play with trucks is a great example of allowing children to explore their likes and dislikes without regard to stereotypes and societal expectations; this story of the anteater helps to support and encourage children to do just this and that it is okay to be different.

I would incorporate this story into a lesson plan for pre-school to first grade students and have them draw pictures of their favorite foods and talk about the different things they like to do. It is nice to have friends who share common interests, but it is also nice to celebrate our differences and that which makes each of us special and unique.

[Chelsea Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children will laugh and enjoy reading while they read a story about an Anteater that does not eat ants.

[The Campbell Family · Rating 4 out of 5]

Linden enjoyed this one! Fun rhyming and the sticky tongue on the cover was funny.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the googly eyes on the cover, colorful pictures, and fun rhyming, this book is great! Warning: sticky tongue on cover

[Christine Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books in rhyme. Anteater who doesn't eat ants.

[Victoria]

Anteater✔️
Vegetarianism✔️
Cute Illustrations ✔️

[Caitlin Labenz · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the story The Icky Sticky Anteater, it starts off with this anteater that doesn’t like to eat ants. The other anteaters tell him that he has to eat ants, so the little anteater goes off to find an ant, but instead finds: a mole, snake, and a rabbit. Once the little anteater finds an ant he realizes that the ant isn’t the right taste, so the little anteater spits out the ant and tells the others that he can eat whatever he wants.
The illustrations were really good, and the fact that this story was a rhyming story would make it a perfect fit for a child. I also loved the fact that the tongue on the front of the book is actually sticky. I think that is a fun way to make the child want to read the book. I also think that the story has a good underlying message by saying that everyone should be their own person and that people can’t make you be something that you don’t want to be.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The anteater star of this book doesn't eat ants. Instead, he enjoys fruits and veggies. His anteater friends tease him about his "weird" diet. When the anteater finally catches an ant, he feels sorry for it, decides to let the ant go, and hosts a delicious fruit and veggie banquet for everyone--and they not only enjoy the food, they learn a lesson about accepting others whose diets differ from their own.

This would be a wonderful choice for vegetarian children. Although the "v-word" isn't mentioned, we have an anteater who prefers plant foods over eating his friends, and a peer group that might not "get it" at first. This would also be a fine read-aloud choice for a class that includes a child with a different dietary needs.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just right for bedtime. Not too long, fun to read.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fun, it might even help children who have certain food preferences.

[Brandy Locchetta]

This book does a great job of rhyming and getting into a rhythm. There are also many opportunities for predictions from page to page. My 2 year old niece loves this one!

[Heather Bowden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how the writer chose to write the book, I liked that it rhymed and I also thought the story was a different way of saying be yourself.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a great message... That everyone is unique in their own special way. The illustrations are great and very colorful. I liked how the writer used rhyming.

[K Morlando · Rating 3 out of 5]

The children really liked this book about an anteater who dislikes to eat ants.

[Kelsey Johnson-]

It is important to be you and to not let anyone change that. The anteater was not going to let the others change who he was and it was important to him to stand his ground. Everyone is unique and that is okay!