Publisher Description

Let's search for creepy critters. Look under that plant. What's that crawling by? It's a little ant! This book uses simple rhymes and engaging images to teach readers about ants.

Author Biography

Rebecca Rissman is an award-winning children's author. She has written more than 200 books about science, history, art, and culture. Her writing has been praised by School Library Journal, Booklist, Creative Child Magazine, and Learning Magazine. She lives in Chicago, Illinois, with her husband and two daughters.

Table of Contents

Let's search! -- Counting ants -- Did you know?

Review

A dozen denizens of the garden are introduced in brief and bouncy rhyming text and varied color photos on day-glo, cartoonish illustrated backdrops. Though there are no glossaries, labels and arrows make terms clear, but given that most of the photos are close-ups, kids might be confused about each critter's (largely unmentioned) actual size. Playful rhymes may energize a read-aloud, but sometimes lead to a confusion of words ("Grasshoppers don't have ears like you, /so they won't hear you saying please./Some do have parts that work like ears, /a bit below their knees.") and forced writing (Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!/Ants like to march in line./They march through the grass/in almost no time!"). There is some anthropomorphizing and opining. For example, Bees are "trying to do their best," and "we should all/give spiders our thanks." A "Did You Know?" fact, helpful index, and counting exercise or activity round out each oversized title. Overall, this eye-catching and energetic series is a fine choice if your insect collection for this age group needs updating. -- Amy Rowland, Shelter Rock Elementary School, Manhasset, NY School Library Journal, "Series Made Simple" 11/1/2012-- "School Library Journal"
Bugs! You never know what kids' reactions will be. Giggle and grab? Shriek and run? These titles in the Creepy Critters series choose to introduce various insects in a jolly, rhyming manner, though they are unafraid to inserts a few cautionary notes when appropriate. The large horizontal trim will fit well on laps, while the combination of extreme close-up photos and cartoon backgrounds do a swell job of buffering potential creepiness. Ants begins with counting exercises that use both body segments and legs, before showing off cool photos of differently colored ants, ants marching in rows, and--ick--a nest of larvae. Bees has some graphical fun in tracing the loop-de-loop paths of its subjects and includes vivid pictures of hives, honeycombs, and--super-ick--pupae. Also, this: "Bees have stingers too, / which keep enemies away. / It hurts if you're stung, so / remember, bees don't like to play!" Ladybugs revels in shots of these colorful cuties of the bug world. Plus, there's "a secret" under their pop-open shells: wings! Fun fact: ladybug larva, on the other hand, is mega-icky. Each volume concludes with a two-page exercise involving finding the titular insects within a cartoon landscape, complicated (just a little) by the addition of a few other bugs. Bright, colorful, and acceptably educational.-- "Booklist"

Review Quote

A dozen denizens of the garden are introduced in brief and bouncy rhyming text and varied color photos on day-glo, cartoonish illustrated backdrops. Though there are no glossaries, labels and arrows make terms clear, but given that most of the photos are close-ups, kids might be confused about each critter's (largely unmentioned) actual size. Playful rhymes may energize a read-aloud, but sometimes lead to a confusion of words ("Grasshoppers don't have ears like you,/so they won't hear you saying please./Some do have parts that work like ears,/a bit below their knees.") and forced writing (Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!/Ants like to march in line./They march through the grass/in almost no time!"). There is some anthropomorphizing and opining. For example, Bees are "trying to do their best," and "we should all/give spiders our thanks." A "Did You Know?" fact, helpful index, and counting exercise or activity round out each oversized title. Overall, this eye-catching and energetic series is a fine choice if your insect collection for this age group needs updating. -- Amy Rowland, Shelter Rock Elementary School, Manhasset, NY School Library Journal, "Series Made Simple" 11/1/2012

Details