Product Description

A squiggly, squirmy sequel to Harry the Poisonous Centipede...

Harry the poisonous centipede is in big trouble. Despite his mother's warnings, he leaves his safe nest-tunnel and finds himself captured by a young Hoo-Min bug collector. Together with his friend George, he's shut into a hard-air prison (a glass jar to you). Even when they escape, many scary and creepy adventures await them: a huge flying swooper, a giant side-runner, even a fall into the no-end puddle (all right then, the ocean). And that's before they meet the Worst Things in the World! Will they make it home before something gets them?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1387554 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

From Amazon.com
After his earlier big adventures (divulged in Harry the Poisonous Centipede), one would think this young centipede would have had his fill of drama and excitement. But that would be a "not-so," in centi-lingo. Harry (technically, his real, Centipedish name is Hxzltl, but we can call him Harry) and his best friend George (Grnddjl) once again find themselves in a peck of trouble when they are trapped in hard-air prisons by the dreaded Hoo-Mins (who might call these prisons jars). They manage to escape, only to embark on an extended good news/bad news-style adventure that spans landscapes (and seascapes) and involves taunting tarantulas, incredibly annoying marine centipede cousins, and a friendly, former-potential-meal lady dung beetle. Whether bravely biting the heads off a veritable army of soldier ants or crackling forlornly to each other about their homesickness for Harry's mother, Belinda (Bkvlbbchk), Harry and George stick together and stick it out.

With tremendous wit and squirmy thrills, Lynne Reid Banks keeps her Hoo-Min readers on the edge of their seats. Prolific illustrator Tony Ross joins Banks again to portray in exciting black-and-white line drawings the surprising range of centi-emotions--and escapades. What next for Hxzltl and Grnddjl? (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly
In this second adventure, the titular hero heads to the "No-Top World" to rescue best friend George. The bad news: Harry is captured by a "Not-So-Big Hoo-Min." The good news: the same boy has captured George. The pals cut loose but encounter life-threatening rains and a beasts before making it home. Ages 7-10.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5-A sequel to Harry the Poisonous Centipede (Morrow, 1997). This time Harry's friend George is missing, and within seconds of sticking his head out of his tunnel hole, Harry ends up on a boy's shelf with a lot of other creepy crawlers in "hard-air prisons" (jars). There is, of course, a dramatic escape and he and George make it home after some perilous meetings with some strange and mostly hostile creatures. There are many references to the first story that may frustrate readers unfamiliar with that book. Banks has created various ways of speaking for her creatures, but instead of actually allowing them to do so, readers are constantly told how they would be speaking, since these ways are unintelligible to humans. The convention becomes tedious and too precious over the course of the book. For superior books with a bug's-eye view, try Carol Sonenklar's Bug Boy (1997) or Bug Girl (1998, both Holt), Mary James's "Shoebag" books (Scholastic), or that all-time favorite by Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach (Puffin, 2001).
Carrie Schadle, Beginning with Children School, New York City
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Bug-style rebellion
This sequel about Harry (actually, Hxzltl, in Centipedish) and his friend George again takes the bugs out from down-under (ground, that is), into the forbidden Up-Pipe and the world of the HOO-MINS.

Here, the bug boys are caught in hard-air-prisons (jars), meet a tarantula, learn about rain and discover why it's important (sometimes) to listen to grown-ups.

I wasn't at all amused by their antics, but my opinion doesn't count. My 10-year old critter loves Harry and his friend. He likes animals, loves bugs, and adores rebellious characters. More than once, Harry has kept him up at night, reading under the covers. He's plowed through this book three times in the last month.

Perfect for second, third or fourth grade readers who prefer illustrated chapter books, the 180-page further adventures of a many-footed mischief-maker will delight kids of the same spirit. Alyssa A. Lappen