Children's Books discussion
The Picture-Book Club
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July 2021: Bug Buddies (Insects and Beyond)
Mod
My favorite, so far: The Big Book of Bugs
4.5 STARS Excellent introduction to the wide world of bugs for young readers. I would have given this five stars if it had included a Bibliography and suggestions for further reading and study. No works are cited, though the title page does credit, "Bug Expert, Barbara Taylor."
The illustrations here are delightful. I love that they are fairly accurate representations of the various insects, have a slight hint of whimsy, and don't make the critters too scary looking -- for those of us still easing into our appreciation of bugs, this is really helpful! ;-)
The text is engaging and informative while still being manageable for young audiences. My five-year-old was perfectly attentive while my eight-year-old still found it absorbing and even I learned a few things.
Highly recommend this for those starting off on their study of the world of bugs and beyond. Budding etymologists will learn many important tidbits. The "Bug Family Tree" at the beginning of the book is excellent for explaining the different classifications and how to tell the difference when you find a creepy crawly:
*Insects have a body in three parts; two, four or no wings; feelers.
*Snails and slugs have one squishy "foot"; feelers; a shell that keeps a snail safe; the scientific name is "gastropods"
*Spiders have eight legs; no wings; a body in two parts; scientific name "arachids"
*Centipedes and millipedes have lots of legs; a body made of a head plus many rings, or segments; feelers; the scientific name is "myriapods"
*Worms have no legs, a long bendy body, a mouth at one end, the scientific name is "annelids"
Each two-page spread includes information on specific insects etc. Book also includes sections on how to spot bugs, house-loving bugs, bugs in your garden, and bugs at work.
I found this a real treat and we will likely refer back to it many times!
Also worth considering, for a slightly younger audience: My Little Golden Book about Bugs Decent enough basic non-fiction information for the younger picture book crowd -- no story here, but the text is fairly engaging and the illustrations are nice with fairly accurate depictions of the bugs, not too cutesy but with a bit of whimsy you'd expect from a Golden Book. No bibliography though there's a note in the beginning thanking Dr. David Grimaldi, Curator, Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History for his assistance so at least the text has been vetted. My five-year-old and eight-year-old both enjoyed this so I'll bump up to four stars for that.
Also of note, The Usborne Big Book of Big Bugs: And a Few Little Ones Too..., which has generally very high ratings. We've enjoyed several other Usborne Big Books. I actually didn’t read the bug one as the illustrations of the bugs etc were just too big and creepy-looking for me. Need to get a little further on my journey to appreciating bugs before I’m ready for this ;-)
Nature All Around: Bugs looks good but I haven't read it yet.
Also highly recommend getting some field guides and the like to see actual photographs of the bugs if your budding etymologists are enthusiastic enough. My eight-year-old liked Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs (it is huge!) I'm not enough of a bug fan to really enjoy detailed photographs, but for those who like that, don't miss Smithsonian Handbook of Interesting Insects which has some gorgeous micro photographs.
Mod
I'm Trying to Love Spiders I chuckled when I saw the title of this book. It seemed perfect-for-me. The book is well done, with lots of interesting facts about spiders and how they are beneficial, such as in catching so many bugs that would otherwise be problematic. Also notes that, while almost all spiders are venomous (that's how they turn their food into slurpees) out of 40,000 known species of spider, only a few can bite humans and are are sufficiently dangerous to cause problems (female black widow and brown recluse are noted) and that you've a greater chance of being struck by lightning than dying by spider bite. The author makes a good point that spiders do us more good than harm and that we should try to appreciate them. It's full of humor and I really liked it -- except for the parts where the narrator is trying so hard to love spiders but just can't yet and squishes three or four in the course of the book. Even if I don't like spiders, I just found it kinda sad turning the page and seeing a big ink splot where the spider used to be. Would be four stars if this had a Bibliography -- and no squished spiders ;-) But, still recommend this, with the above reservations, and don't miss the end papers as they have some drawings and fascinating facts about spiders
Walter's Wonderful Web Walter is of the cutest spiders I've ever seen ;-) This is an adorable book for the younger picture book crowd. Just note that you won't learn much about spiders, it's more about shapes and the message to never give up and to find your own way path to your goal.
Mod
Some Bugs Lots of fun! The rhyming text is lively and the illustrations really take the spotlight. My kids spent a long time poring over the pages looking for all the bugs on each page and cross-referencing with the labeled bug illustrations in the back. This is not a particularly "informational" book in that you don't really learn much about the different types of bugs and there's no bibliography or suggestions for further reading... it's more of an invitation to find, enjoy and celebrate bugs in your backyard and that, of course, is a type of education, too.
Beetle Bop I'm afraid this one just didn't work for me though I see it's popular with many readers. It's a fun concept, but the illustrations just felt too muted or something for my taste... sometimes it was hard to discern the bugs very clearly. I'll round up to three stars as the text is pretty fun. Not a lot of "educational" value in this one, just a fun celebration of bugs. Along similar lines, I preferred "Some Bugs" by and that's the one that my kids asked me to reread
The Best Bug ParadeCute. Probably three stars for me, but my five-year-old loved it. Not really educational about bugs, but it uses bugs to help explain size comparisons so it's good for teaching the mathematics concept to bug enthusiasts :-)
A Beetle Is Shy As with the other books in the series, the artwork is absolutely gorgeous and I like how it made me appreciate the subtle details of these amazing creatures. The text is pleasant and informative, though I do wish there was a Bibliography, at least. My five-year-old really enjoyed looking at this. He is very artistic and the illustrations captivated him.
Mod
Hank's Big Day: The Story of a Bug
Cute. For me, the part with Amelia felt a little incongruous with the rest of the story, but I appreciated the human-bug friendship and the sense of adventure :-)
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Señorita MariposaI like that the text is bilingual and that English comes first on some pages and Spanish first on others. The illustrations are nice, fun and engaging, though I personally find the colors a bit dark... it almost feels like it's nighttime or dusk in several of the illustrations when it's actually daytime. The Author's Note is good, providing a bit more information about monarch butterfly migration (such as that Seniorita Mariposa is one of the "super generation" that makes the journey south, but it takes three or four generations to complete the trip north.) I do wish there was a Bibliography in the book, but there's a website: https://mistergsongs.com/mariposa/
which has some good information, including a nice video of the author/songwriter singing the song over lovely videos of his trip to see monarch butterflies in Mexico and it's quite nice.
You can also watch the author read and sing the book in another video on the same site.
From the website: "Ben and Marcos made a pilgrimage to visit the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico, where they witnessed millions of butterflies congregating in their winter home. They met with Homero Aridjis, the environmental activist who lobbied for more than a decade to protect the Monarch's winter home (establishing the UNESCO World Heritage Site), as well as biologists who study the monarch butterflies and the indigenous cooperatives who continue to protect and preserve their habitat.
The life-changing journey inspired Ben to develop the Mariposa Project, a touring production that combines music and storytelling with visual art to inspire young eco-activist and help children see each other across borders."
Mod
Well yes, Jerry Pallotta’s The Icky Bug Alphabet Book is definitely fun, detailed and informative (both as an alphabet book and as a general introduction to insects, to bugs), but I do have to point out that I personally happen to find the title rather (no, actually quite majorly) misleading (as in my humble opinion, none of the insects featured and presented by Jerry Pallotta in his The Icky Bug Alphabet Book are what I would consider in any way "icky" and/or disgusting, to be actively avoided and feared).
And honestly speaking, the book title actually thus does manage to majorly rub me the wrong proverbial way. For truly, we should be teaching children that bugs and insects are an important part of the animal kingdom, of the cycle of life, and not "icky" and/or potentially horrible (and one of the main reasons why so many of us often desire and strive to squish and squash bugs on sight is likely because we have simply been taught and tend to believe that all bugs, that all insects are by nature and necessity vile and yuck-inducing creatures). And while the information, the details presented by Jerry Pallotta in The Icky Bug Alphabet Book certainly does NOT AT ALL show the latter (in fact, rather the opposite is the case, as the featured insects are generally depicted in a more than balanced and positive manner), for and to me, the title does have the tendency to assume disgustingness, to assume that insects are by nature uncanny, strange and offence inducing (well, that at least has been my personal opinion regarding the title of The Icky Bug Alphabet Book and I still find this to be the case). And this factoid, this sad truth, is very much frustrating and unfortunate, as it in my opinion undermines the many positives, or rather, it it has the potential to undermine the many positives that Jerry Pallotta and his The Icky Bug Alphabet Book attempt to present and teach (and for children who already might have an aversion to insects, or even mild squeamishness, seeing a book title that supposedly and prominently features so-called icky, read loathsome, vile bugs, could perhaps prevent them from even wanting to consider The Icky Bug Alphabet Book and to thus miss out on a fun, educational and really in no way creepy and crawly reading and letter/biology learning experience). Three stars!
Mod
Now the featured text of I Like Bugs (which was published in 1999 and is therefore part of Margaret Brown’s unpublished manuscripts, since Margaret Wise Brown herself died in 1952) is certainly rhythmic and generally sufficiently engaging for young children, providing a joyful celebration of bugs, of insects, and of course also showing a young boy who totally likes and appreciates them. However, if one then does consider how in such enduring children’s classics like in her Goodnight Moon and in her Noisy Books Margaret Wise Brown always strives to be both repetitive and at the same time textually detailed content wise, that in I Like Bugs our young narrator basically just keeps repeating that he likes bugs and some of their physical attributes (such as for example their sizes and shapes), personally, I find this rather too simplistic and also rather monotonous in both tone and textual scope and as such certainly not really en par with those Margaret Wise Brown picture books published during her lifetime. And considering that I also do find G. Brian Karas’ accompanying artwork not really all that aesthetically pleasant (because while his drawings certainly are colourfully fun and mirror the young boy’s enthusiasm for insects, they are also much too annoyingly cartoon-like for my tastes and with the featured bugs also rendered as really quite too minuscule for easy visual recognition), I can and will only consider but two stars for I Like Bugs (and to also and very pointedly make the claim that in my opinion, many if not most released after her death Margaret Wise Brown picture books just do not possess that same sense and spirit of childhood magic and delight that those offerings published whilst she was alive always or at least very much often and regularly did and do).
Mod
I absolutely do find that there is indeed oh so very much to both enjoy and appreciate about The Bug Girl: A True Story that I really wish I could be rating this 2020 non-fiction picture book with more than just three stars. For the premise of The Bug Girl: A True Story and how young Sophia Spencer (with cowriter Margaret McNamara's help) so eloquently tells her personal and totally true story is certainly very much delightful (and yes, even with some parts of The Bug Girl: A True Story also being a tad frustrating and painful), how Sophia lets her readers not only know in no uncertain terms that she is truly a total bug girl, how much insects of all kinds have intensely interested her since her toddlerhood, but also how she, how Sophia almost decided to give up on her love for arthropods altogether due to some nasty instances of schoolyard bullying, and most happily, how her mother (her single mother) then prevented this by sending an email to a group of entomologists (who promptly wrote back to reassure Sophia that there is absolutely nothing at all strange and uncanny about liking and being fascinated by insects, by bugs etc.), and of course not to mention that Kerascoët's accompanying artwork is equally an aesthetic wonder, a truly marvellous visual feast of both realism and imagination and with a presented colour scheme that always works and is never sensually grating or off.
However, there are also a few minor but frustratingly so academic issues that I for one have found with The Bug Girl: A True Story and which I do tend to consider problematic enough to remove two stars. For one, I have always been taught that while all bugs are insects, not all insects should be labeled as being bugs. And well, butterflies (and The Bug Girl: A True Story starts with a butterfly) are actually of the order Lepidoptera and true bugs are of the order Hemiptera. And thus, in my humble opinion, Sophia Spencer really should not be calling the butterfly which sparked her interest in insects a bug, but rather an arthropod (or just an insect) and perhaps a better title for this book should actually not be The Bug Girl but a title showing that Sophia is an insect, an arthropod fanatic (and not just label all insects as being bugs, as that is obviously not really all that scientifically correct and sound). And for two and a bit more annoyingly for me, although the supplemental information on insects at the back of The Bug Girl: A True Story is both fascinating and enlightening, that there is no included bibliography, that there are no book titles or websites mentioned for further reading and study, for me, this indeed poses a very much annoying and frustrating intellectual shortcoming and something that I also do think rather lessens the teaching, learning and research value of The Bug Girl: A True Story.
Mod
When I heard that there actually exists a picture book fictional (auto)biography of the girlhood of famous German naturalist and artist Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), I immediately purchased a copy for my personal library. And while for the most part, I have quite enjoyed Margarita Engle's Summer Birds, I do and with considerable annoyance find that there is a rather problematic lack of historical accuracy portrayed at times. Maria Sibylla Merian lived in the 17th and early 18th century, and while there definitely was still quite a bit of rampant superstition especially regarding insects and other non vertebrates (and so-called spontaneous generation, with insects and worms supposedly generating out of mud and the like), there was also a great deal more openness than in, say, the Middle Ages (and why the Summer Birds book description actually places Merian in the Middle Ages, or at least seems to, I will NEVER even remotely understand and accept). For while Maria Sibylla Merian (indeed) was regarded with suspicion by some if not even many of her neighbours and acquaintances, she also did not have quite as tough and as problematic a time as portrayed either in the historical note or in the narrative itself (and actually had a very supportive family). Thus Margarita Engle's lack of textual accuracy and the at times over dramatisation of Maria Merian's issues and struggles with her suspicious neighbours and acquaintances is a bit of an annoying and frustrating turn-off for me (not a huge turn-off, as I still think Summer Birds is a lovely, informative and engaging account of a talented and inquisitive late 17th century German girl, but enough of a frustration for me to only award two and half stars for Summer Birds, well actually two stars, as half stars are not possible on Goodreads).
Now with regard to Julie Paschkis's accompanying illustrations, while they are bright and descriptive, I personally would MUCH RATHER see Maria Sibylla Merian's own illustrations utilised for at least the depictions of the butterflies (and personally, I think it is rather an insult to her talent and her legacy as an artist that they are not used, that no illustrations of her own work actually are included, are presented in Summer Birds). Furthermore, I also do tend to find that the physical depictions of Maria Merian herself make her look rather more Dutch than German (but that is a personal observation and feeling, others might not think thus, and the illustrations are truly a visual treat in many ways). Recommended, but with the caveat that historical accuracy might be lacking more than a bit (and the scope of the same cannot even be checked or verified, as Margaret Engle has also not included any lists of works cited and consulted, a serious academic shortcoming which rather majorly limits the teaching and learning scope and potential of Summer Birds, and is one of the main reasons that my two and half star ranking is rounded down to two stars and not rounded up to three stars).
And I would also say that even though the following are NOT picture books and thus more suitable for older children, they are both far far superior to Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian.
The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science
Maria Sibylla Merian: Artist, Scientist, Adventurer
Mod
Now while I do appreciate (and have even mildly enjoyed) reading in Elly Mackay's Butterfly Park how a young girl who has recently moved to a new town makes new friends and begins to feel increasingly content and settled by restoring a decrepit and devoid of flowers and plants butterfly park to its (former) blooming glory, and of course, also thereby attracting the butterflies for which she had been homesick since her move, I cannot say that I have actually all that much enjoyed either Mackay's presented narrative or her accompanying collage-like illustrations. And I guess that first and foremost, I just do seem to find it rather hard to believe and even accept that when the young girl first opens the gate to the butterfly park next to her new house and discovers it is empty of plants and flowers, she still sits down on a bench to patiently wait for butterflies to appear, that she does not make the immediate connection of butterflies needing flowers, and since there are no longer any flowers and plants in the park, that of course, there also would be no butterflies present there either (or even interested in visiting said park). For sorry, since Elly Mackay makes it rather abundantly clear at the beginning of Butterfly Park that the little girl used to live in a rural area with lots of plants, flowers and of course also butterflies, she would (or I guess I should say that she should) be aware of the fact that since the butterfly park next to her new residence has no flower beds and the like anymore, that it therefore would also not be attractive to butterflies.
And thus, while the storyline of Butterfly Park, while the general narrative of how the little girl and her new friends and neighbours reclaim the abandoned and desolate park by planting flowers attractive to butterflies is lovely and sweet enough in and of itself, I do find it rather problematic that the little girl does for one not immediately upon entering the park realise what is needed, that flowers are required, and for two that it it is not her but her neighbours who actually come up with the idea of making the park into a butterfly haven by planting flowers (until it once again and I quote is "brimming with flowers"). Combined with the fact that with regard to the accompanying illustrations, I really have only unreservedly enjoyed Elly Mackay's depictions of butterflies and plants, and albeit that Butterfly Park is not in any way inappropriate and in fact does relate a pleasant enough story with some very important messages, I just have not personally enjoyed Mackay's marriage of text and images enough to grant more than two stars (as yes indeed, I do very much tend to find some of the presented narrative of Butterfly Park a bit hard to fathom and realistically accept and would definitely have wanted the little girl to be a bit more "with it" right from the beginning regarding as to why her newly discovered butterfly park has no butterflies in it).
Mod
Well yes, Jerry Pallotta’s The Icky Bug Alphabet Book is definitely fun, detailed and informative (both as an alphabet book and as a general introduction t..."
Ugh, yes, that really rubs me the wrong way, too. As you said, not the message we should be sending to young people :-(
We did enjoy Pallotta's The Butterfly Alphabet Book, and it has beautiful illustrations.
Mod
When I heard that there actually exists a picture book fictional (auto)biography of the girlhood of famous German naturalist and artist..."
Placing her in the Middle Ages frustrated me greatly, too! I enjoyed the book as a whole, but that lack of historical accuracy was SO unfortunate.
Mod
Well yes, Jerry Pallotta’s The Icky Bug Alphabet Book is definitely fun, detailed and informative (both as an alphabet book and as a gene..."
The book itself is pretty good and balanced but the title in my opinion totally sucks.
Mod
When I heard that there actually exists a picture book fictional (auto)biography of the girlhood of famous German nat..."
Indeed, and that there were NONE of Merian’s own paintings shown really is annoying and kind of an insult to her.
Mod
When I heard that there actually exists a picture book fictional (auto)biography of the girlhood of famous German nat..."
You should definitely consider The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science when your sons are a bit older. But I like Maria Sibylla Merian: Artist, Scientist, Adventurer even better but it is definitely more for teenagers and adults.
Mod
The Honey Makers Gail Gibbons' books are wonderfully nostalgic for me and it's a joy to share them with my own children now. We thoroughly enjoyed this look at honeybees and especially the focus on the different jobs a single honeybee has in her lifetime. Note that the story focuses on honeybees on a farm and the beekeeper and his family so it probably will not be suitable for vegan readers who do not consume honey. If you don't mind beekeeping, you will probably find the "A Beekeeper's Yearbook" at the back rather charming and fascinating. No Bibliography or suggestions for further reading, unfortunately.
The Honeybee 4.5 STARS We loved this! One of my favorite picture books in recent months, and my five-year-old asked for multiple rereads (immediately following the first one!) so that's always a good sign ;-) The illustrations are delightful, bright and cheerful (and the cutest little bees ever!) -- totally lovely with just the right amount of whimsy but not getting cartoony. The text is exceptional! It's jam-packed with information about honeybees yet it rhymes effortlessly and is so expressive and immersive and fun. I'll post a few of my favorite examples below. There's a note to the reader in the back with ways you can help bees. (I personally would have liked a few suggestions for further reading or bibliography but it's still quite strong as is.) This was a joy to read (and reread) and I'll be on the look out for more work by Hall and Arsenault.
[bees in the hive]
"Chew, chew -- that's what we do,
We suck out the nectar,
We suck it straight through,
Chew chew -- we're changing it's makeup,
We're giving the nectar a chemical shake-up.
Chew, chew-- we make it like glue.
Make it thick, make it stick,
Make it slick, make it new!"
**********************
"Outside the hive come shorter days,
Cooler winds and softer rays,
fewer eggs to birth and raise...
With the queen less busy,
the hive's less buzzy,
and bees amass
all soft and fuzzy.
'Come now, rest.
Join our nest.
Huddle and cuddle,
The winter's our test.' [says the Queen]"
We have enjoyed the Eric Carl’s bug books: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider, The Very Quiet Cricket…or is it Grasshopper? I always confuse those too. Lol. Also, Mrs. Spider’s Tea Party is a childhood favorite of mine!
Mod
Mod
Well in my humble opinion, Jinny Johnson’s 1995 Bugs: a Closer Look at the World's Tiny Creatures provides a very good general introduction to both insects and arachnids (spiders and scorpions), suitable for both older children from about the age of seven onwards, and also though for interested adults who might want a bit of information on insects and spiders but not overly much specifics and scientific jargon, with Bugs: a Closer Look at the World's Tiny Creatures providing enough of a featured narrative to give readers a good general impression but not so much detail so as to become textually overwhelming (and Jinny Johnson’s presented text also being accompanied by full colour and meticulously detailed realistic illustrations, both of the featured animals and often also of their diverse environments, rsuch as for example ant mounts, flowers etc.). Furthermore, and for me personally quite importantly, I also do very appreciate that in Bugs: a Closer Look at the World's Tiny Creatures Jinny Johnson also and thankfully does not simply consider all insects and arachnids as potentially horrid, as pests, as creatures to be feared and avoided, in other words, Johnson shows and describes both beneficial and harmful, destructive “bugs” (and yes, that Jinny Johnson also points out just how potentially deadly mosquitoes are on a global level, this is to be lauded, as indeed, many biologists, many scientists do consider mosquitoes amongst the world’s most dangerous creatures).
However, even though I would definitely recommend Bugs: a Closer Look at the World's Tiny Creatures, I do find two aspects of Jinny Johnson’s presented text a bit annoying and frustrating. For one, even though Johnson clearly points out that spiders and scorpions are arachnids and not insects (albeit they are of course closely related), considering just how often spiders and scorpions are still being labeled and approached as insects, perhaps it would be better if the sections on scorpions and spiders in Bugs: a Closer Look at the World's Tiny Creatures were to appear in a different area of the book and by themselves. And I definitely do find it majorly frustrating and a pretty significant academic shortcoming that there are no bibliographic materials whatsoever included in Bugs: a Closer Look at the World's Tiny Creatures and that this most definitely and majorly lessens the potential teaching and learning value of this otherwise very thorough and educational tome.
Mod
Mod
Fabulous oil paintings depict close ups of worker bees at work inside and outside the hive. Fascinating information follows one summer worker bee from the moment she breaks out of her cell until her natural death about a month later. Includes a double gate-foldout showing the bee's first flight. Additional facts about honeybees is included in the back matter, with a short website list and bibliography. This won the 2021 Sibert Award; pretty good for a picture book, since that award has often gone to a long history book.
Mod
Honestly, Carson Ellis' absolutely delightful Du Iz Tak? (What is That?) is for me not only a perfect picture book both illustratively and textually, but is also a book which I dearly wish I could rate with more than the five star maximum allowed by Goodreads (as in my opinion, Du Iz Tak? is a ten star offering, a glowingly amazing and evocative homage to life, to the seasons, to imagination and fun, and to have a text, to have a narrative that presents an invented language, well, for linguistically inclined and interested me, that was and is truly the appreciated icing on an already most delightful and delicious cake).
And aside from the fact that I do oh so much love love love the illustrations, the both detailed and also sweetly simple and colourful renderings of imagined insect life (and really, truly, I for one have enjoyed Carson Ellis' pictorial images and colour schemes so much that I am indeed feeling a tiny bit grumpy that Du Iz Tak? has ONLY won a 2017 Caldecott Honour designation and not the actual Caldecott Medal), in this here review, I will and of course mostly be waxing poetic with regard to the presented narrative, with regard to the author's invented text, an "artificial" language that is both simple and profound, and a constructed narrative that actually (or at least this has been the case for me) has been relatively easy to figure out simply by using the context of the illustrations and basic universal language rules and facts.
Of course, that Carson Ellis has remained basically close to the general word order of the English language (and with that I mean that her presented "insect" sentences generally follow a subject-verb-predicate order) this does indeed make trying to figure out what the invented words and sentences might (or do) mean considerably easier (as there are also languages with word orders that are the inverse, where for example the direct or indirect objects actually tend to come come before the subject, or the German language, where no matter what one puts in first position, the second position in a main clause always has to be occupied by the conjugated verb), but still Du Iz Tak? is a delightfully challenging and engaging basic language concepts learning exercise tool, a wonderful and oh so much fun activity that can (due to the language of the narrative being invented and thus artificial) be used in many different ways and means to show, to practice, to engage students in a fun and unthreatening, non grammar and translation method type of language learning and teaching (and I do know one thing, that the next time, I am teaching a first year German college or university language course, I will very likely if not definitely be using Du Iz Tak? to get my students used to basic remedial grammar rules in general, something that I often and unfortunately have to do, since at the primary and secondary level, basic grammar is now often not even being taught anymore and often actually not allowed by school boards to be taught, and students thus often come into an elementary post secondary foreign language course not even knowing the differences between subject and verb, that questions have different punctuation requirements etc.).
Highly recommended is Du Iz Tak?, especially for those of us who love word and language-based riddles and games (and really, if you take your time with the text, and think back to language as a construct and if you also use the accompanying illustrations as a bit of a guide, you should be able to easily figure out all if not most of the presented story, of Carson Ellis' invented insect language).
And by the way, whilst reading Du Iz Tak? for the first time, I did have a few minor little possible comprehension issues with the fact that some of the words presented by author Carson Ellis as her invented insect tongue seem to have been gleaned verbatim from commonly used languages such as German and Danish (for example the "du" of the title, which is supposed to mean "what" in German means "you" and "tak" which is supposed to mean "that" in Carson Ellis' insect lingo is the Danish word for "thank you" and thus when I originally started perusing the invented language text of Du Iz Tak, the former did interfere a bit and somewhat distract me), but not enough to consider anything but a glowing and shining five stars for this absolute treasure and pleasure of a picture book (and I actually seriously doubt that the author is even all that aware of the fact that some of her artificial insect speak appears in languages such as German and Danish, I mean, I only noticed this because I happen to speak German and have tried to read Danish on occasion).
Mod
As a three year old (in Germany, in 1969, and thus in the very same year the book was in fact published), I absolutely adored Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar (or I should rather say that I loved the German version of the book, that I found Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt absolutely wonderful, and that I have in fact only read the English version but this one time, being today, and as a Kindle download). And if I therefore am mostly rating The Very Hungry Caterpillar with my memories of childhood and my inner child in mind, The Very Hungry Caterpillar is most definitely and always will be a full and glowing five stars for me.
But yes, as an adult, I do indeed and well understand that the main "protagonist" that the very hungry caterpillar is never in any manner textually and narratively developed as a character, that he remains rather flat and one-dimensional throughout, and that he also consumes mostly food products that are not even remotely suitable for caterpillars (as they basically consume mostly leaves). However, I also and absolutely know and realise for a fact that when I was three years old (and had Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt repeatedly read to me), whether the list of foods the caterpillar was eating was suitable and acceptable for butterfly larvae or not did not matter all that much to me (if at all), and that for the intended audience, both the text and the accompanying images of The Very Hungry Caterpillar are generally pure unadulterated joy, magic, and perhaps even perfection, with the final illustration, the beautiful and intensely coloured butterfly into which the erstwhile very hungry caterpillar morphs, being the ultimate icing on an already most delicious cake (and no food based pun is intended with this here allusion either).
And indeed, I do have so very many fond memories of both my mother and grandmothers repeatedly and always gladly reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar to me (in German), with my most special and evocative, precious recollection being my mother's mother taking the time to meticulously and slowly explain to me that caterpillars do not really eat chocolate cake and ice cream cones (that they consume leaves and grass, that chocolate and most of the other foods mentioned in the book would actually and likely make the caterpillars very sick) when I asked if I could feed chocolates to the caterpillars in the garden. So I guess with my remembered and recalled question to my grandmother in mind, I should perhaps offer this small caveat to parents that they might consider also letting their young children know that caterpillars do not and should not consume most of the food products mentioned and depicted in The Very Hungry Caterpillar, lest they are like me and are curiously wondering whether the caterpillar's presented and depicted consumption is realistic (and yes, I really did want to try and feed chocolates and ice cream cones to the caterpillars I had seen in grandmas's garden and was a trifle disappointed at my grandmother's answer to my question).
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Wow!! Carmen Agra Deedy's (author) and Michael Austin's (illustrator) Martina the Beautiful Cockroach is simply amazing, evocative, engaging, and easily one of the very best folklore adaptations I have had the pleasure to read (and I say that even though I actually have a bit of a cockroach phobia). And I cannot even decide what I enjoyed more, the luminous, breathtaking illustrations, which not only depict Martina as very beautiful indeed, but also clearly show the character of her suitors (the proud, overbearing rooster, the slovenly pig, the cold-blooded, creepy lizard, and finally, Perez, the sweet and diminutive mouse, who looks just as cute and lovable as he is described and who loves Martina not for her physical appearance, but because she is sweet tempered and strong voiced) or the engaging and often subtly humorous narrative. I have found myself smiling at the many humorous little touches the author uses, such as the age of marriage for a cockroach being 21 days instead of 21 years, or the fact that Martina does not give her hand in marriage, but her leg.
The idea of spilling coffee onto a potential suitor's shoes in order to discover how he might react if angered, is furthermore not only an interesting and workable narrative tool, one which strips the pretense from Martina's suitors and shows their true characters, her Abuela's advice is actually something based on simple common sense (before marriage, it is a very good idea to be aware of how your significant other will act and/or react, and it is especially important to know how he/she might react if angered). In Martina's case, the coffee test saves her from some very unsuitable (if not dangerous) matches. But when she meets Perez, the coffee ends up on the other foot (her own), as Perez also has a Cuban grandmother (at that, I laughed until tears came, so funny, so adorably ironic, and I knew that the two were and are definitely meant for one another).
From a multicultural point of view, I also appreciate the fact that Martina's suitors are not other cockroaches, but different kinds of animals; Martina the Beautiful Cockroach thus also both presents and promotes intercultural and interracial relationships and marriage. There is never a sense of Martina's animal suitors being culturally or ethnically unsuitable, they are unsuitable due to their undesirable character traits (pride, anger, sloth, some of the seven so-called deadly sins). And in the end, Martina's love interest and potential bridegroom is a mouse, and not a cockroach. In fact, throughout the course of the story, not one cockroach suitor appears, which I think is an interesting and thought-provoking touch, as it counters the idea of having to marry within one's own narrow cultural and ethnic sphere.
I would recommend this wonderful folktale adaptation to anyone who enjoys the former, and honestly, even if you do not like bugs, this is a story which is in no way creepy or uncomfortable; Martina and her Abuela are both beautiful and lovable, and Perez the mouse is simply adorable, of course. The only animals that I personally find potentially frightening are the choleric, blustering rooster and the creepy, snake-like lizard. Thus, even if you do not find insects appealing, you will most likely adore this wonderful and sweetly humorous retelling of a Cuban folktale.
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See The Prairie Ecologist for a friendly discussion of this.
https://prairieecologist.com/2017/02/...
https://prairieecologist.com/2015/08/...
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As a three year old (in Germany, in 1969, and thus in the very same year the book was in fact published), I absolutely adored Eric Carle's The Very Hungry C..."
When I was a Children's Services Librarian, I made a magnet board version of this story, and as I read the story, I would let the children put the illustrated pieces on the magnet board (one at a time, of course, and they took turns). It was always a huge hit.
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Also, Mrs. Spider’s Tea ..."
Oh my goodness, The Very Hungry Caterpilar, yes! How could I forget that one? It was one of my own very-favorites in childhood and my children both enjoyed it, too. I'm glad you are posting some of these books for younger readers... my oldest is eight so I tend to get books that he will learn from and my five-year-old gets pulled up to those, but I want to get some that are still pitch-perfect for a little one while my five-year-old will still enjoy them. If you think of more, please share :-)
For babies and toddlers, Hello, Bugs! is quite cute. It's one of those high-contrast board books. My children absolutely loved the high-contrast board books when they were babies.
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As a three year old (in Germany, in 1969, and thus in the very same year the book was in fact published), I absolutely adored Eric Carle's..."
How fun, Beverly!
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Wow!! Carmen Agra Deedy's (author) and Michael Austin's (illustrator) Martina the Beautiful Cockroach is simply amazing, evocative,..."
Gundula, you're posting many books that I read years ago and loved. So far, I've just been posting the ones I checked out specifically for this theme and haven't gone back through my shelves so it's quite fun to see your list :-)
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Thank you, Cheryl. I remember we talked briefly about this in a thread elsewhere a few months ago. I don't recall ever seeing it mentioned in any of the picture books about bees or insects that I've come across. Appreciate the insights from all of you!
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Wow!! Carmen Agra Deedy's (author) and Michael Austin's (illustrator) Martina the Beautiful Cockroach is simply a..."
I wanted to point out gems like Martina the Beautiful Cockroach because positive fictional picture books about bugs is in my opinion also a way to make insects become more appreciated.
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Thanks, looks interesting.
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Although Eric Carle’s 1969 The Very Hungry Caterpillar (but of course in the German translation of Die kleine Raupe nimmersatt) is one of my all-time favourite early childhood book memories, I cannot say that I have been as equally and as all encompassingly impressed with his 1990 The Very Quiet Cricket.
Yes indeed and definitely, the accompanying artwork is most certainly (and in fact like it is usually the case for me with Eric Carle as an illustrator) a delightful and colourful combination of imagination and realism, and I do very much appreciate how with his illustrations for The Very Quiet Cricket Carle visually introduces his young readers/listeners to nine different types of insects and one worm (although personally, I do kind of wish that there actually were no worm appearing in The Very Quiet Cricket since worms are generally NOT insects except for when they appear as insect larvae, and in my humble opinion, the worm in the apple scenario in The Very Quiet Cricket might therefore be rather confusing to and for the intended audience with regard to animal classifications, as since all of the other animals encountered in The Very Quiet Cricket are clearly insects, it would not be unreasonable for children to assume that the featured worm should therefore also be a type of insect).
But albeit that Eric Carle’s illustrations have certainly and definitely been a total visual delight for my eyes and for my aesthetics, the text for The Very Quiet Cricket is in my humble opinion rather potentially confusing for younger readers or listeners. For yes and honestly, if I had encountered the presented narrative of The Very Quiet Cricket as a child, in other words when I was the age of Eric Carle’s intended audience, I would almost certainly be totally wondering why if ALL of the other insects (and the worm) are able to make sounds, are able to converse with and greet the young cricket (including an older cricket, including a member of the young cricket’s own species), why is the young cricket then not able to respond, why is the cricket not able to make any kind of sound at all until at the very end of The Very Quiet Cricket (when the very quiet cricket meets another similarly aged cricket). Because although as an adult reader I am able to deduce that the young cricket is obviously a male and is able to finally burst into a chirping song when he finally encounters another young and clearly female cricket, I doubt that this would have occurred to me as a child, and thus, I do think that there is textually too much potential confusion present with regard to Eric Carle’s printed words for me to consider a higher ranking than three stars for The Very Quiet Cricket.
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So yes, Matthew Clark Smith’s Small Wonders: Jean-Henri Fabré and his Word of Insects is the type of picture book biography that for and to me basically and mostly gets things right so to speak. For the author, for Clark Smith both informationally, engagingly and happily also with age appropriate textual denseness and vocabulary choices (suitable to and for older children from about the age of seven or so onwards) presents the main highlights and lowlights of Jean-Henri Fabré’s life and career as an entomologist (that during his childhood, young Jean-Henri loved exploring and collecting natural treasures, including multitudes of different insects, how much during his married life and as a teacher he had to majorly struggle for acceptance of his ideas regarding insects, that insects are important and necessary spokes in probably all ecosystems, that they are interesting and well deserving of being studied, that insects are generally to be accepted and not simply feared and regarded as pests and as problematic, and how when Jean-Henri Fabré was almost ninety years of age, he and his writing were finally given the respect they deserve by him being nominated for the 1912 Nobel Prize for Literature, and although Fabré did not win, even being nominated was obviously a huge accomplishment and vote of confidence).
Combined with a detailed and extensive time line, a short but annotated bibliography and a supplemental historical note, I have both very much enjoyed reading Small Wonders: Jean-Henri Fabré and his World of Insects and equally appreciated being narrationaly introduced to an early entomologist and author of whom I had actually and in fact never heard (but yes, I do kind of think that some of the information in the historical note is in my opinion a trifle repetitive, as some of what Matthew Clark Smith textually presents in the text proper of Small Wonders: Jean-Henri Fabré and his World of Insects also subsequently appears in pretty much the same form in the historical note section).
And finally, with regard to Giuliano Ferri’s artwork, his illustrations, I find them both lushly colourful and realistic, providing an aesthetically very much pleasant visual accompaniment and mirror to and for Matthew Clark Smith’s presented text, making Small Wonders: Jean-Henri Fabré and his World of Insects into a pretty much wonderful combination of text and images (although I do kind of wish that there were also alongside of the illustrations some archival photographs of in particular Jean-Henri Fabré and his family included within the text proper).
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A fun, mildly exciting and above all delightfully poetically rollicking (song-like) story is Carol Diggory Shields’ 2002 picture book The Bugliest Bug (all about an advertised contest regarding which insect participant will end up winning the prize of being considered the so-called bugliest bug). But alas, the eagerly anticipated contest presented in The Bugliest Bug is unfortunately also a total scam dreamed up by some nasty arachnids, by some hungry predatory spiders (and it is thus up to young and unassuming damselfly Dilly to organise the ensnared in a huge spiderweb insect scam victims to fight back, to escape from the spiders’ greedy clutches, and later, upon successfully accomplishing this, for Dilly to be unanimously declared by all and sundry as most definitely being the bugliest bug).
However, even though the presented verses, albeit that the featured storyline of The Bugliest Bug are of course (and as demonstrated above) entirely fictional, both Carol Diggory Shields’ printed words and Scott Nash’s bright and boldly colourful (but still generally realistic in visual scope and feel) accompanying illustrations also in my opinion do serve as providing a basic both verbal and visual introduction to many different types of insects and also a bit to spiders (what the featured insects look like, how they act, what their defence mechanisms against predators are, and yes, that arachnids tend to actively prey on insects). And although the combination of Carol Diggory Shields’ text and Scott Nash’s artwork in The Bugliest Bug is thus and naturally first and foremost meant to provide entertainment, there is also below the surface so to speak somewhat of an educational component featured, a basic portrait of insects as well as arachnids in general (with regard to their physical attributes and to their behaviours), and which is in my opinion perfect for young children and indeed also probably totally delightful (since The Bugliest Bug is like a fun rhyming song) for a read-aloud.
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As a three year old (in Germany, in 1969, and thus in the very same year the book was in fact published), I absolutely adored Eric Carle's..."
I can see how this would be a fun activity.
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Also, Mrs..."
I tried to feed a caterpillar with some of the foods mentioned by Eric Carle! My grandmother was not pleased but took her time to explain that in reality caterpillars only eat leaves and such.
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Well, if you are actually looking for a picture book about insects that is both entertaining and at the same time educational, in my opinion, Molly Aloian and Bobby Kalman’s Insect Bodies (from their World of Insects series) should probably not be considered as a really good and engaging reading choice (and in particular so if entertainment value is in fact the primary reading goal and objective desired and envisioned). For although Aloian and Kalman’s presented narrative with regard to their Insect Bodies is certainly scientifically sound, massively interesting and delightfully enlightening (and indeed and happily, also textually presented by Aloian and Kalman without them, without the joint authors making use of potentially confusing entomology specific scientific jargon), showing not only what types of bodies ALL insects have (three distinct parts, an exoskeleton, six legs, right and left side looking exactly identical) but also that there are many many different types of insects of varying sizes, inhabiting varied ecosystems and consuming vastly different types of food (with some insects being carnivores, some vegetarian, some omnivorous and with many insects also functioning as scavengers, as consuming dead and decaying plant and animal matter), the text for Insect Bodies is also first and foremost rather drily informational, not a huge problem for me and my reading tastes and in fact also quite appreciated, but I do feel that I should at least warn potential readers that entertaining and featuring an actual storyline to be followed Insect Bodies certainly is not (but in fact also really should not be).
So yes, for what it is supposed to be accomplishing, Insect Bodies totally does in my humble opinion achieve its goal, giving a basic but sufficiently thorough introduction to and understanding of in particular insect bodies and their physiology and also at the same time insects in general (and accompanied by both photographs and realistic colour illustrations, the combination of text and images for Insect Bodies is truly quite successful, with the visuals to and for me perfectly and enlighteningly mirroring Molly Aloian and Bobby Kalman’s printed words). And thus, I definitely do recommend Insect Bodies and probably the entire World of Insects series for bascule educational purposes (and for older children from about the age of six to nine years of age), and with my only (but still rather academically major for me) issue being that there is no included bibliographic material whatsoever, and that this does in my opinion totally and frustratingly lessen the supplemental research value of Insect Bodies.
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I have found that DK only very rarely includes bibliographies and that this does indeed quite annoy me.
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So true!
Along those lines, a few I read in years past:
Be Nice to Spiders This was a childhood favorite! First published in the late '60s and it certainly is a tad dated now (such as all the workers at the zoo being men), I still think it could win over kids today.
Helen the spider arrives at the front gates of the zoo with a note from the little boy who owns her asking them to please take care of her because can't take her with him to his new "no pets allowed" apartment. When the box is opened, she escapes and is soon building her web in the animals' cages. (I was so fascinated by her web-building process as a kid!) The poor lions are first--they are plagued by flies but Helen eagerly catches flies for her meals and soon the lions are fly-free and happy. But then an important guest is scheduled to visit the zoo and the manager wants the zoo cleaned top to bottom--including getting rid of all those nasty spider webs. What will happen to Helen!? And the animals!?
Of course, there is a happy ending ;-) And while I am no fan of small zoos and frown about the animals being in their tiny cages, I do think that the overall message of the book is an important one, showing how nature works in harmony and that we shouldn't discount the contribution of one type of creature, even if it's tiny and "unpopular." BE NICE TO SPIDERS! ;-)
Sophie's Masterpiece: A Spider's Tale I am in love with this book! So beautiful, so sweet, gently humorous, totally loving--yes, I am talking about the spider, Sophie. Sophie is a very special spider with webs of rare artistry. She wants to make life beautiful for humans but they don't seem to appreciate her or her creations--until one day when she finds someone worthy of her masterpiece.
The ending brought tears to my eyes and I kept thinking about this sweet story for a long time afterwards! Highly recommended.
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In their third nature book, Aston and Long explore the beautiful and remarkable life of butterflies. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous! I found myself marveling over the many different types of butterflies. This is a feast for the eyes! Aston's text provides a pleasingly lyrical style with fine factual information about butterflies, such as how long it takes for a caterpillar to become a butterfly, how butterflies drink, and the difference between a butterfly and a moth. Even though I know about Monarch butterflies and how far they can fly (a town a few hours from here hosts them every year on their migration and I would love to see it one day, when so many thousands are clinging in the trees!) I was astounded to learn how *high* they can fly! While I'm not sure this book was quite as magical for me as An Egg Is Quiet, I still highly recommend it (along with the other books, the second of which is A Seed Is Sleepy). My one small pet peeve with this book is that I wish the illustrations on the fly leaves matched up. In the beginning, we see the caterpillars, and at the end we see the butterflies they turn into, but they are in different places on the page which makes it difficult to match them up. Of course, kids may enjoy the challenge of finding them, but being a busy-and-boring adult when I read this last night, I wanted to be able to match them more easily.
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And first and foremost, Insectopedia is unfortunately not really an A to Z encyclopedia (which I was expecting from the title) but rather a series of essays, which I am still planning to hopefully enjoy, but for basic information on insects, I was definitely wanting and expecting an alphabetical dictionary type of book.
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Cobweb Christmas (other topics)The Spider's Gift: A Ukrainian Christmas Story (other topics)
The Spider's Gift: A Ukrainian Christmas Story (other topics)
The Cobweb Christmas (other topics)
The Cobweb Christmas (other topics)
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I've always been a fan of the "cute bugs" but I've never liked "creepy crawlies" or spiders -- yes, some insects definitely creep me out. However, thanks to my two children, I am learning to appreciate insects more than ever before -- they actually chose the title for this month's theme ;-) They have made it their mission to educate those who "don't like bugs" or are afraid of bugs and help them better understand that most insects are important and beneficial. I can't help but get caught up in their enthusiasm and feel proud that they are speaking up for these very small but vital creatures who are so often maligned in our society, from bees who are being harmed by pesticide use, to the harmless little spider in the corner of your house who might actually be helpful eating pests like mosquitos and roaches you let her alone. Of course, my boys know that some insects ARE dangerous and that even "good" bugs can potentially harm (such as bees) but overall I love that they are championing insects and I look to them for guidance reviewing this month's books. I hope there are some fellow bug enthusiasts in the group eager to chime in with their own recommendations.
Happy reading!