Worm Loves Worm

When Worm falls in love with Worm, the next step is marriage. But the course of lumbricine love never did run smooth, and our two earth-burrowing heroes (heroines?) find that their friends and acquaintances have a number of preconceived notions about how marriage ceremonies ought to work. From

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Cricket, who informs them that someone (perhaps himself?) needs to marry them, to Beetle and the Bees, who offer to be the best man and 'bridesbees,' respectively, all the other creatures chime in with suggestions and offers. Worm and Worm are agreeable, and after much negotiation - both can be grooms, and both can be brides, as the case may be - the marriage finally gets under way...

A sweet look at the social expectations that often surround marriage, and how those can be adjusted and adapted in the case of less traditional couples, Worm Loves Worm puts the affectionate bond between the prospective spouses front and center, gently driving home the point that it is love that is most important in marriage, not who wears the tux and who wears the gown. While it can certainly be read as an argument in favor of same-sex marriage, I think the story also emphasizes the more general point that the emotions involved in this big day, and the commitment the two participants are making to one another, are far more important than the outward trapping of ritual and practice. This is just as relevant for heterosexual couples, I would think. I'm not sure I absolutely loved the book, as some of my acquaintance have - I wasn't as impressed with the artwork here, as I was with Mike Curato's work for the Little Elliot books - but it does have charm.

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