What's That Bug? : Everyday Insects and Their Really Cool Cousins - Hardcover

Froman, Nan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316296929 ISBN 13: 9780316296922

Publisher: Little, Brown, 2001

Synopsis

What's That Bug? invites young readers to look at the insect world in the same way scientists and entomologists do. The book opens with a fascinating chart that clearly lays out the way the insect world is organized into orders or families; young readers will respond to the intriguing family names such as Hemipetra and Orthopetra in the same way they do the words Triceratops or Diplodocus. Larger-than-life illustrations show nine of the most important insect families that live in backyards, deserts, or jungles and make the connections between them. For example, the common housefly is shown to be a close cousin of the huge tropical robber fly that paralyzes victims with its poisonous beak. Strikingly illustrated, this book will be prized by nascent entomologists who want their science colorful, accurate, and interesting.

About this title

About the Author

Nan Froman is a Canadian writer and editor who co-authored Into the Mummy's Tomb with Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves. She has contributed to dozens of children's books and edited such bestsellers as Polar the Titanic Bear and On Board the Titanic. Julian Mulock, a Toronto-based illustrator, perfected his insect drawing skills while working at the Royal Ontario Museum as a scientific illustrator. Since then his illustrations have appeared in many books and magazines for children, such as Owl and Chickadee.

Reviews

Grade 3-6-Despite its catchy title, this is not a book about true bugs, but a survey of insects, a distinction more clearly spelled out in the book's subtitle. Large, bright, detailed paintings, starting with an enormous, face-to-face encounter with a grasshopper on the cover, will draw readers in. After a one-page introduction explaining how Carolus Linnaeus grouped insects by wing types, the book provides one or two double-page spreads for each of the nine selected insect orders. Within each order, several common and exotic species are highlighted. Researchers looking for information on specific species will find only rudimentary information here, but the book holds together well as a survey of the classification of insects. The intelligent text and eye-popping illustrations make this a solid choice amid the many insect books available.
Ellen Heath, Orchard School, Ridgewood, NJ
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 4-6. Excellent scientific illustrations by Julian Mulock are what kids will see first. Their extraordinary details will attract not only children curious about bugs but also budding entomologists. Bugs in 9 of the 28 insect orders are introduced with the scientific name of the order, followed by a brief overview of major characteristics and thumbnail descriptions attractively placed at various intervals across the pages. Oddly, the labeling and scale of the artwork seems somewhat haphazard: a few examples are pictured "actual size"; at other times "actual size" silhouettes appear on the page; sometimes there's no clue about scale. The text is both informal and informative, highlighting interesting information about each insect. Age-appropriate follow-up resources are appended. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Little, Brown
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0316296929
• ISBN 13: 9780316296922
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Mulock Julian
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32