Bugs from Head to Tail

July 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 2-This delightful nonfiction picture book follows companions Dinosaurs from Head to Tail and Ocean Animals from Head to Tail in a series of enlightening texts that look and read like fiction. This installment has the same format as the previous works, opening with a spread depicting a close-up of an animal part and posing a question (for example, "What bug has antennae like this?"). Turn the page, and a wider view of the whole creature in its natural environment is revealed, accompanied by a detailed explanation of that particular species and how it uses its body to survive. The digital illustrations, created using photographs of paper and textures, are eye-catching, with bright colors, varying patterns, and dimension. The pictures are complemented by informative, engaging text. This title features bugs that will likely be familiar to children (ladybug, monarch butterfly) and those that are not (rhinoceros beetle). The story is succinct, as only eight bugs are included, but an additional seven are mentioned and illustrated on the last two pages. This would work well as a read-aloud and could easily launch a discussion or spark art projects or crafts. VERDICT A successful example of read-aloud nonfiction that would be a welcome addition to most library collections.-Lindsay Jensen, Nashville Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2017
In this introductory picture book, each of eight different "bugs" is allotted four pages, which include an initial, illustrated question followed by the answer and then additional art and text.Following the title's lead, the first question, in large lettering on the verso, is "What kind of bug has a head like this?" An enormous paper collage resembling the head of a rhinoceros spreads across both pages. Upon turning the page, the lettering triumphantly announces, "A rhinoceros beetle!" and gives a few exciting facts about the creature. On this double-page spread, a full-bodied, paper-collage rhinoceros beetle is surrounded by its environment--created from mixed-media, including photographs of stones and underbrush. Equally impressive combinations of art and text follow. The text is clear, and scientific vocabulary includes concise definitions, as in "These wings are part of the ladybug's exoskeleton, or 'outside skeleton.' " The questions move from head to antennae to eyes to body to wings to hair to legs to tail--with "tail" explained as a trick question. The final double-page spread offers a gallery of seven more "awesome bugs" and a sidebar about further classifications. Every digitally created habitat collage is a worthy match to the carefully worded text. The round, wide-pupiled eyes of the bugs make them all--even the tarantula--appear benign and endearing. Even the aquamarine endpapers abound with friendly bug images. Attractive, informative, and beautifully designed. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

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January 1, 2018
Introductions to arthropods (insects, arachnids, and myriapods) are disguised as a kid-appealing guessing game. Readers learn about eight kinds of bugs by looking at a body part and guessing which creature it belongs to; turn the page for a cut-paper illustration showing the whole creature and a descriptive paragraph about it. "Other Awesome Bugs" are mentioned at book's end.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)