Black Sun the dung beetle by Tang Tang. Illus. by Nia Gould

This is a simply written story about a young dung beetle who loves nothing more than rolling dung into balls. One day he is encouraged to enter a competition for rolling the most dung balls between sunrise and sunset. He wins and the title of Black Sun is his and he remains champion for a number of years. Over time he gradually grows into a large dung beetle and begins to find the challenge of rolling multiple dung balls with his creaky bones and lack of smell become too much. He loses his final competition and contentedly passes on the title of Black Sun to a new young champion. The colourful illustrations in this story support the text and provide interest for the reader. The fine detail of the images, especially the dung beetles and animals of the jungle, will engage young readers.

Themes: Dung Beetles, Competition, Jungle Life.

Kathryn Beilby