Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema, pictures by Leo and Diane Dillon- Traditional or Folk Literature

“Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears” is a great example of traditional or folk literature. This book gives an explanation of why mosquitoes buzz in people’s ears, just like the title says. It was all caused by a big misunderstanding. An iguana was annoyed by a lie that a mosquito told him, so he put sticks in his ears. The iguana’s friend, the python, said hello to the iguana, who did not hear him due to the sticks in his ears. The snake was afraid the iguana was mad and was planning on tricking him, so he went into a rabbit hole. This scared the rabbit, who ran as fast as she could, which startled a monkey. The monkey warned everyone of danger, and he accidentally knocked off a tree limb that fell onto an owl’s nest, killing an owlet. Mother Owl was very sad and confused, so she did not wake the sun like she was supposed to. The king of the jungle, King Lion, called a meeting of the animals, and they figured out what happened. Mother Owl has happy to find out what really happened, so she began waking the sun again. The mosquito overhead the animals talking and felt guilty, so the mosquito still goes around asking and buzzing in people’s ear, “Is everyone still angry at me?” That is why mosquitoes still buzz in people’s ears.
This book is great for children. It can be used to spark creativity and used for a creative writing activity. This book provides a silly and creative explanation of why mosquitoes buzz in people’s ears. After reading this book, students could write stories explaining other things in life, such as why the sky is blue or why cows moo. Students could have lots of fun doing this while also practicing writing skills and getting their creative juices flowing! The book is also excellent for students because of the wonderful pictures. The book won the Caldecott Medal in 1976 for its wonderful pictures, which used cutout shapes, watercolor airbrush, pastels, and India ink. In addition to enjoying the words and the story, the children can enjoy the pictures as well! Finally, this book could be used to teach children to not jump to conclusions. All of the animals in this story caused a crazy mix-up simply because they did not take the time to ask what was going on. The python assumed the iguana was mad, when really he just did not hear him! Kids in third-fifth grade often have similar misunderstandings, and this book could teach them to talk to their peers in order to get their facts straight and prevent arguments.