By Jared Curtis jared@dmcityview.com
'Gertie and Me: A girl and her bug'
By Jardel Jones
Random Shack
4/1/2011
128 pp
$12.95
Following in the footsteps of such beloved books as "Marley & Me:
Life And Love With The World's Worst Dog" comes a heartwarming story about
a little girl and her pet. "Gertie and Me: A Girl and Her Bug" follows
the story of little Janie Jones, who after being bit by a bedbug, captures
it and keeps it as her pet. Although her parents forbid it, Janie hides Gertie
in her mattress, and soon the rascal has an entire family to share with Janie.
But her parents eventually bug bomb the house, and Janie becomes distraught
over her lost pet.
But surprise, Gertie escaped to his secret hiding place before the poison
reached him. Although Janie is happy that Gertie is alive, the bed bug starts
growing rapidly, and soon he is the size of a poodle. After Janie secretly
trains Gertie, she shows her parents (who are initially horrified at the
bug's growing body) the new pet, and they eventually welcome Gertie into
the family as one of their own.
From then on Janie and Gertie are inseparable. Janie plays with Gertie in
the afternoons, takes him to school as part of show-and-tell and uses him
to gross out her older sister. Gertie even gets his own bughouse courtesy
of Janie's dad. But soon, Gertie becomes sick, and doctors are perplexed
as his behavior becomes erratic.
One day after school, Janie cannot find Gertie and goes looking for him.
She eventually finds him in the woods behind the house. Gertie attacks Janie,
but she escapes and runs to the house crying. Teary eyed and upset, Janie
is forced to put down her childhood pet. Although the story takes a terrible
turn at the end, "Gertie and Me" is all about the journey of a
little girl and her bug. APRIL FOOLS
