Bradford P. Ward  -  Children's Book Author
  • Welcome
    • From the Author
  • Parents and Teachers
    • Pre-Reading Activities
    • S.T.E.M. Activity Ideas and S.T.E.M. Education >
      • S.T.E.M. Activities to Complement Cockroach of Meadowfield >
        • Stop Motion Animation
        • Design an Insect Trap
        • Making Bug Robots
        • Pollination Project
    • Reading Activities for: 'A Pilgrimage of Pests' >
      • The Brownings
      • The Great Cold
      • The Warming Times
    • Reading Activities for: "The Great Cicada Ball" >
      • Deadlines
      • The Gates Open
      • The Finale
    • Reading Activities for "Heroes of Meadowfield" >
      • Search Parties
      • The Loomers
      • Revolution
    • The Moth Catcher: Cryptic Coloration
    • Metamorphosis Activity
    • Insect Picture Library
    • Mapping Meadowfield
  • Young Reader Pages
    • Bug Games to Play
    • A Pilgrimage of Pests >
      • Worker 1200
      • Cockroach
      • Silverfish
      • Praying Mantis
      • Glowworm
      • Old Yellow Fat
      • Stinkbug
      • Grand-Daddy Long Legs
      • Book Louse
      • Acorn Weevil
    • The Great Cicada Ball >
      • Water Strider
      • Gypsy Moth Caterpillar
      • Stag Beetle
      • Robber Fly
      • Luna Moth
      • Earwig
      • Goliath Beetle
      • Ra
      • Dung Beetle
      • Periodical Cicada
    • Heroes of Meadowfield >
      • Forager Bee
      • Bombardier Beetle
      • Scout Bee
      • Cicada Killer Wasp
      • Queen Bee
      • The Hive
  • Windward ArtWorks
    • Framed Sea Glass Pictures
    • Ceramic Plant Sconces >
      • Cone Sconce Style Large
      • Cone Sconce Style Small
      • Round Sconce Style Large
      • Round Sconce Style Small
  • Brad's Blog

Cockroach

The cockroach has been with us since the Carboniferous Period (280 million years ago).  They eat everything from leftover soda to cardboard and glue.  A health hazard, cockroaches can carry over 30 different diseases.  They can run at speeds comparable to a human running at 210 miles per hour!  MythBusters showed the insect has a 10% survival rate when exposed to radiation levels equivalent to a WWII atom bomb. Impressive, but not quite what we had been led to believe.

    artwork by Bradford P Ward
Picture
 So I ask. Who really likes   a cockroach?  I don't know anyone who does.    Do you?  When Cockroach is first introduced at the beginning of the book,
A Pilgrimage of Pests, we learn that he is not too popular in Meadowfield either.  And for good reason.  Being rude and obnoxious may be two of his finer qualities! (Let me warn you.  If you haven't read beyond the first chapter, he gets much worse).


Cockroach lives alone in the forest.  He doesn't have much.  In fact, the only thing he has is a stink pile of filthy, germ-infested, rotting tidbits; piled high for his dining pleasure.  Of all the tidbits in his pile, including egg shards, purple berries, fruit rinds and scribble skin, what he treasures the most are his three, sweet Loomer crystal cubes. He keeps these buried deep in the pile, where only he can find them.  That is until his neighbor, the sly Silverfish, begins to concoct a scheme to get her tarsi on the coveted crystal cubes.

Cockroach may be the central character in the book, but there are many other Meadowfield bug-fellows that you'll meet as you continue to read the entire Cockroach of Meadowfield trilogy.




A short video about cockroaches from National Geographic.

Back to Pilgrimage Homepage
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.