Dust
Mite

He’s small, he’s scruffy, and he’s fairly sure he’s a superhero.

Dust Mite lives under the bed with a crew of crumbs, lint and germs. The cleaning supplies are coming for all of them.

Download the coloring page

The first book is in the works.

Dust Mite, a round scruffy creature in a tattered red cape, standing with one fist in the air

Meet Dust Mite

He wears a cape he found, a bandage he earned and a grin that usually means trouble.

Dust Mite is brave first and sensible later. He makes a mess of most things, and he gets there in the end.

  • Dust Mite grinning with his hands on his hips

    Has a plan

  • Dust Mite wide-eyed with his hands in the air and his hair on end

    Hears the vacuum

  • Dust Mite frowning with one fist raised

    On a mission

  • Dust Mite looking glum with drooping hair

    Bath night

  • Dust Mite laughing and holding his belly

    Carl said something

  • Dust Mite smiling nervously and scratching his head

    It was him

The crew

Nobody under the bed is clean, and nobody minds.

  • Linty Lou, a fuzzy ball of colorful lint with big eyes and a pink bow

    Linty Lou

    Lint bug

    Shy, loyal and braver than she thinks. She is covered in sock fuzz and smells faintly of gym shoes.

    “Um… I think this might be bad.”

  • Crumbly Carl, a round green creature covered in crumbs and holding a cookie

    Crumbly Carl

    Crumb muncher

    Always hungry, always cheerful and rarely paying attention. His hands are sticky.

    “Is this edible?”

  • Germina, a glossy green germ with curly feelers

    Germina

    Germ

    The clever one. She glows a little green, leaves a slime trail, and is gladder to have friends than she lets on.

    “Technically, that’s my fault.”

  • Cobweb Cody, a small gray spider draped in cobwebs

    Cobweb Cody

    Dust spider

    Slow, calm and fond of decorating. He is usually tangled in something.

    “Everything sticks eventually.”

Bubbles, a shiny soap bubble with a pink bow and a rubber duck

And one who isn’t dirty at all.

Bubbles

Soap bubble

Cheerful, kind and spotless. She wants to help everyone under the bed, which is exactly the problem.

“Let’s wash it away!”

The Clean Team

They are polite, they are spotless, and they are certain they’re helping.

The Clean Team: a scrubbing robot made from a sponge, two foamy sisters with bows, a grinning spray bottle in a blue cape, a beaker in a lab coat and three sleepy scented clouds

  • Scrubbot 3000

    Never speaks. Never stops scrubbing.

  • The Suds Sisters

    They giggle, finish each other’s sentences and overdo everything.

    “Oops! Too clean!”

  • Captain Pure

    The leader. He smiles constantly and believes he is saving everyone.

    “Cleanliness is kindness!”

  • Dr. Sterile

    Carries a clipboard and has a plan for every speck.

    “Mess is a measurable failure.”

  • The Fresheners

    Three quiet clouds that smell lovely and mean business.

    “Breathe deeply…”

The coloring page: Dust Mite in outline, one fist in the air, with his name underneath

Color him in

One page, free to print. He comes in black and white, so your kid gets to decide what color a dust mite should be.

Download the coloring page

One-page PDF, sized for US Letter paper.

For the grown-ups

Dust Mite was my nickname in college. My friends gave it to me because I’m a little rough around the edges, and it stuck.

It turned into a character: a scruffy hero who means well, makes a mess and works it out eventually. The stories are for kids aged 4 to 8 and for whoever reads to them.

The Clean Team isn’t evil. They take tidy too far. These are stories about balance, and a little mess is part of being a kid.

The first book is in the works, and a coloring book comes after it.

Ben Subercaseaux

Author