
Reach for this book when your child feels overlooked, undervalued, or like they are working twice as hard as others just to be ignored. It is a profound choice for the preteen or teenager who feels the weight of social hierarchies or the exhaustion of trying to fit into a world that was not built for them. While the protagonist is a bug, the feelings of being an outsider are deeply human and universally felt during the transition to secondary school. Shaun Tan uses a surreal, corporate setting to tell the story of a cicada who works for seventeen years in a grey office without a single promotion or word of thanks. The book explores themes of quiet resilience and the hidden richness of the internal life. It is short but heavy with meaning, making it an excellent bridge for older kids who might find traditional 'picture books' babyish but still crave visual storytelling to process complex emotions like loneliness and systemic unfairness.
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Sign in to write a reviewThe cicada is threatened with being finished by human resources.
The book deals with systemic workplace bullying and social isolation. The approach is highly metaphorical. While the cicada is mistreated, the resolution is triumphant and transcendent, leaning into a hopeful, nature-based freedom.
A middle or high schooler who feels like a 'misfit.' Specifically, the student who is quiet, diligent, and perhaps neurodivergent, who feels invisible in a loud classroom environment.
Read the book through once alone. The ending involves the cicada going to the roof of a tall building, which could be misinterpreted by a sensitive child as a dark moment before the literal 'flight' (metamorphosis) is revealed. A parent might choose this after hearing their child say, 'No one even noticed I wasn't there today,' or seeing their child retreat into themselves after being teased for being different.
Younger children (age 10) will see a weird bug story with a cool transformation. Older teens will recognize the stinging satire of corporate culture and the profound commentary on how society treats 'outsider' workers.
Unlike many books about bullying that focus on 'standing up' to the bully, this book focuses on the dignity of the victim and the fact that their worth is entirely independent of how others see them.
A cicada works as a data entry clerk in a sterile, grey skyscraper. For seventeen years, he is bullied by coworkers, denied access to the executive washroom, and never given a promotion. When he finally retires, he heads to the rooftop for a startling and beautiful transformation that leaves the human world behind.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.