The Unfortunate Life of Worms by Noemi Vola

"My final pleasure of the summer" —Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic

“Conveys all you needed (and perhaps never needed to know) about worms”—The Huffington Post

A wildly original, whimsical, humorous exploration of the human condition told through a worm’s eye view; a masterful pairing of the author’s artwork and ironic text in more than 250 illustrated pages.

This innovative, ironic, and metaphoric exploration of the life of worms is a stunning showcase of Noemi Vola’s impressive and versatile talents as both an illustrator and a writer. Her funny, clever illustrations are paired with pithy, ironic text that conveys all you ever needed (and perhaps never needed) to know about worms.

Beginning with “factual” material about worms in general, from eating habits to underground habitats to its varying shades of pink, there is much to discover about worms. The narrative then follows one worm in particular through a tragic loss of its better half (also known as the worm’s tail), becoming a metaphor for all who have loved and lost. The humor of both illustrations and text are paired beautifully, introducing a distinctive new artist with honed literary sensibility to the American audience. Vola’s pink-edged bible of worms.

Age Range: 7 years and up

About the Author:

Noemi Vola was born in a small town in Northern Italy. She is the author and illustrator of three books published by Corraini: The Unforgettable Party, From Here to Far Away (2019), A Book of Horses* (*Revolutionary Ones) (2018), and Bear with Me (2017), selected in the 100 Outstanding Picturebooks Exhibition curated by dPICTUS at the 2018 Frankfurt Book Fair and awarded the 2019 Illustrators' Exhibition at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Her book FIM? Isto nao açaba assim (Planeta Tangerina, 2018) won the International Serpa Picturebook Prize in 2017 and was awarded Best Foreign Illustrated Book in 2018 at the Amadora BD Festival. She also works with magazines such as Vogue Kids, Mousse, and AWW.