I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

This is a short story about a smelly little dung beetle and how he finally makes some friends. I don't know what purpose dung beetles serve in nature personally, but if it's anything like the story details, that's kind of cool. I'm sure we call them dung beetles because of what we as humans have witnessed them doing, so this story doesn't seem like a huge stretch based on that.

The main message of the story seems to be that outcasts of society have value and can be helpful and useful too. And they may just be resourceful enough to save your behind with your own trash.

The illustrations were very grey and felt dark, but since the story takes place in the sewer, that's pretty fitting. They also provided a lot of nice little details to check out.

Overall I give this book 3.7 out of 5 stars.

The illustrations on this are wonderful! Also this book and Ernest have a lot of heart! At times it was hard to know where the story was going / follow along. But for an elementary school student interested in bugs this might be just the book for them!

Ernest is a dung beetle. He is a little smelly. He has some hidden talents. If you have a kiddo that is a little werid and loves to learn about God's creatures, they may appreciate Ernest story of acceptance. You never know when you will need someone like Ernest.

A Special thank you to Clavis Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

Thank you NetGalley and Clavis Publishing for accepting my request to read and review Ernest's Underground Castle.

Author: Bubble Ducky
Published: 11/29/22
Genre: Children's Fiction

The author wrote and illustrated the book himself, I do recognize his talents and work. Unfortunately, this doesn't work for me. I had to Google dung beetle after reading the story; it wasn't explained. I did wonder while reading was dung poo.

The tropes of moving, missing and wanting a friend is what the author tried to address. The story missed its mark. The other insects, etc only show interest in Ernest once they need what only he has. That is not a teaching I would support.

The illustrations are sketchy, however, they fit. The story takes place in a sewer. I would not expect bright colors.

I have to believe there is a little boy who would just love a book on poo without any lessons.

First and foremost, I would love to thank NetGalley, the author, and publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this advanced copy. This book is cute and the art is beautiful. Recommended

Few critters want to share their home with a dung beetle, but chance allows the one here to prove his worth. Generally they don't like the fact they collect, well, dung – but when there's a disaster, it's proven here that having a pile of the stuff in situ can actually be of benefit to many. It's a slightly unusual way of portraying the lesson of not instantly dismissing people before learning their hidden talents, but also unusual too is the collage/cut-out style, which wasn't to my taste. It would only have been three and a half stars without it, but looking as it does I can't really go past three.

Ernest's Underground Castle is a children's picture book in which I noticed several difficult and large words that I feel would need to be explained to a small child in order for them to understand the story. I did enjoy that Ernest was able to help his friends even though he wasn't very welcomed in the beginning. Overall, a cute book but not one I would purchase. Thank you for the advanced reading copy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC! Ernest's Underground Castle is a cute book and a book that any bug lover will like. The illustrations are cool, and eye catching throughout the story.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC. I am leaving an 100% honest review.

I really liked this book. It's cute and shows everyone has a place and purpose. Even dung beetles and their dung balls. I really liked that little details on the apartment walls, they made the pictures pop.

I was a little confused about the letter to your future self, but then I saw the letter her wrote at the end and thought it was sweet

This was weird, quirky and cute. Honestly…I liked it. Can’t wait to show it to my kid.

There was a part I didn’t understand though, it said when the prankster poured something down the hole everything got blocked. But it didn’t look like everything was blocked… it looked like the liquid got everywhere.

Dung castle is hilarious though. Glad everyone could be saved.

This book reminds me of this web series called Larva, featuring a dung beetle, some larva, and other types of bugs and occasional wildlife. You get to see the lives of most of the bugs, but not so much of the dung beetle's home, save for his brood ball. I think Ernest's Underground Castle would be great for kids, and even adults, who love Larva.

The author's note at the end is a bit difficult to read due to such a narrow, negatively letter-spaced typeface/font styling.

I also would have loved to see a sort of "underground map" of the new/dung city at the end of the book.

Ah yes, bugs. Every child, or at least most children are terrified of them. I appreciate stories that turn our biggest fears into our biggest curiosities and appreciation. I adored this, I loved the sweetness of the story and I loved the idea of making bugs seem just like us - confused but enamoured with our talents and what the future holds. Children will love this!

A nice and gloomy story about the dung beetle named Ernest. It came after I started reading to my little one about the curious lion from Usborne. There the little lion is following a dung beetle. This little story about Ernest is so interesting for my daughter to want to know more about these bugs. I enjoyed the fact that the art work is very different than others that we have read until now and the fact that it presents another "world" to which we do not pay so much attention walking down the street or in children's books.

Most kids like bugs, but this one has problems most can relate to. Feeling unloved and outcast. When he chances on a new place to live, he makes one friend. Then a disaster happens, and all learn that he can really make a difference.
Everyone has something that they do well, and everyone wants to be accepted for who they are.
The colorful illustrations resemble collages, and they do get the points across.
Perfect for adults to read WITH children and for ESL to polish their English and perhaps learn that they are not alone.
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Clavis Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

An adorable story about the importance of community and togetherness. Great story for a unit on insects, homes, or environments. A great supplemental activity can be created out of the "write your future self a letter" portion of the story.

Well, my six year led daughter absolutely loved this one! She was so happy that the stinky bug helped everyone out and found a place where he really felt he belonged.

I thought I t was a lovely message with some cute illustrations!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the read Now opportunity!

I think a book about a dung beetle is a bit weird but it was cute nonetheless. The art style was very fun. I’m a sucker for a kid's book with a funky style. I really enjoyed Ernest’s note to future him and the idea of being loved for your specialties instead of hated for your less desirable qualities.

Ernest is a stinky dung beetle who feels unwanted in his home, which prompts a move to the sewer. Once there, he finds friends and acceptance and a new place to call home.

This book was a bit on the strange side for me. The story just didn’t feel like it fit together well, especially when the snail Ernest meets randomly has him write himself a letter. It needed a smoother transition for most of the story. The pictures were also a bit off for me, I wasn’t really sure what I was looking at in some cases.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clavis Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Kids usually likes bugs, beetles, spiders, ants and all these crawly animals. My daughter is no exception. She was interested in getting to know more about Ernest, the dung beetle, and his friends living underground. The story though is a bit clumsy, and I am not a big fan of the artwork either. It is dark, gloomy and way too post-modern to my taste.

Thanks for the English edition to NetGalley and Clavis Publishing.

I liked this book a lot. I loved the message of finding/knowing what you’re good at and find your place using those abilities. This will be a great book to use with Kindergartens and even first graders and have them write a letter to their future selves. Focusing on the thing they are good at.

The illustrations are so fun and engaging. So many textures are layered and I believe kids who love the art from Eric Carle would like this as well.

Can’t wait to add this to our family library.