Bugs Before Time: Prehistoric Insects and Their Relatives - Hardcover

Camper, Cathy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689820925 ISBN 13: 9780689820922

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2002

Synopsis

Did you know that for every pound of people on earth, there are 300 pounds of insects? Or that millions of years ago some of these bugs actually weighed that much? Well, during prehistoric times, before dinosaurs ruled the earth, bugs did; and just like today the seas, skies, and lands were covered by these creepy-crawlers. There were dragonflies with wings that reached a yard across in length, and millipedes that grew to over six feet long! But what is even more fascinating is the fact that all of these creatures in some form or another learned to adapt and survive to become the insects and sea beasts of today.
In this fully illustrated picture book, readers will be captivated by the detailed information of prehistoric insects, arachnids, and their relatives. Chock-full of facts about fossil formation, insect evolution, flight theories, and geologic time, Bugs Before Time will mesmerize entomologists of all ages. Author Cathy Camper's absorbing text, and artist Steve Kirk's extraordinary paintings combine to re-create a world where giants reigned.

About this title

About the Author

Cathy Camper has published articles and stories for children and adults in Cricket, Wired, and Giant Robot magazines. She coedits a tiny magazine about candy called Sugar Needle, and likes to make art out of seeds, and toy robots out of junk. Although she loves fossilized insects and getting surprises in the mail, please don?t send her any gigantic bugs, especially if they have more than eight legs. This is her first book for children.

Reviews

Grade 4-7-A handsome introduction to prehistoric insects and other arthropods. Camper's up-to-date, conversational text and informative captions and data boxes investigate such disparate matters as insect evolution, theories on flight development, continental drift, and fossil formation. While not an in-depth dissertation, there is plenty of meat here for young researchers, assisted by an excellent list of further readings and some Web sites. Kirk's eye-catching, realistic watercolors portray a fascinating array of creatures, some with evolutionary existing descendants: trilobites, ants, eurypterids, and dragonflies among them. Neither an index nor a table of contents is provided, which may cause some dismay, but the chapter headings on every other page (and those nifty illustrations) should assist readers. A colorful time line is appended to assist in placing the discussed creatures in Earth's prehistory, as is a helpful glossary of the many unfamiliar terms. The book is sure to entrance budding entomologists and surprise dinophiles with the Arthropoda's long evolutionary history (which ante- and postdates their beloved beasts by a good many millions of years).
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3-5. Camper introduces a variety of insects and their arthropod relatives that lived during prehistoric times. She describes several common bugs--among them, ants, spiders, and cockroaches--still thriving today, as well as other, now extinct creatures such as trilobites and erypterids. She also includes sections on fossil formation, evolution, the location of continents, and geological time. Kirk's brightly colored watercolor illustrations, from large double-page spreads to small inset drawings, add informational value. Many are captioned; unfortunately a few (such as the scene of a prehistoric cave shared by humans and large cockroaches) are melodramatic. There's not enough information to satisfy report writers, but browsers will be captivated by the cover art showing a dragonfly winging its way through a prehistoric forest with its dinner in its clutches, and by the catchy title. This will be popular with dinosaur enthusiasts who are ready to branch out to other prehistoric species. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0689820925
• ISBN 13: 9780689820922
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Kirk Steve
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40