“Juliette and the Mystery Bug” by Colleen and Terry Shepherd

Juliette and the Mystery Bug

Colleen & Terry Shepherd
Ramirez & Clark Publishers (2021)
ISBN: 9781955171021
Reviewed by Lydia (age 7) for Reader Views Kids (9/2021)

“Juliette and the Mystery Bug” by Colleen and Terry Shepherd is a big story with three parts. In each part of the story, someone is either getting sick or keeping themselves from getting sick.

In the first part, Juliette’s brother starts sneezing and not feeling good. Juliette gets scared and doesn’t know what is happening. Their mom takes them to the doctor, who looks at her brother. The doctor calls in a nurse who teaches them about washing their hands and counting to twenty. Her brother stays home so he won’t get anyone else sick and eventually gets better. In the second part, Juliette imagines she’s a superhero with superpowers. Her mom tells her that it is easy to be one when you wear a mask! Juliette doesn’t know much about them, so her mom explains how wearing one helps her and everyone around. Juliette imagines herself with one and sees that she’s not the only hero who lives by her house. In the third part, Juliette’s dad gets a vaccine. He explains how it helps people and how it gets made by scientists and then gets tested. Juliette doesn’t know much about it, but her dad helps answer her questions, and she feels better.

My brother and I asked our mom to read this book many times. We both have to deal with getting sick and the Corona Virus around us at home and school. My brother seems to get colds a lot, so that was easy to understand, and all of last year at school, our teachers taught us about washing our hands after we do anything, especially going to the bathroom. Then at school and certain places all of last year, we had to wear masks and were told that we were helping our classmates by wearing them. Now, not too long ago, my parents got the vaccine to keep themselves from getting COVID.

The story is simple for me to understand, and I like how it was all in rhyming, which made it easier to follow along. The pictures are bright, and I like the bright purple color on the cover. Kids in school will understand and enjoy the story because they can understand what is happening from dealing with it themselves.

A Note from Mom: “Juliette and the Mystery Bug” is an appropriate book for kids nowadays because they are in the midst of it all, whether they like it or not. Our kids need to understand the reasoning behind some of the requests and demands placed on them to help them better understand this crazy time in which we’re living. The story is easy to understand and will hopefully stick with them longer than hearing it from a teacher, etc.