Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
ABC Insects
Board Book
For ages 2 to 5
Sterling, 2015 ISBN: 978-1454911944
Often the first wild animals children get to observe are the ones that live in their gardens, school ground and parks, and those that visit their balconies, window ledges and window boxes. They see the birds that come to feeders and that bathe in puddles. They see squirrels chasing each other up trees, and butterflies that flitter past windows. What children often don’t notice, at first at least, is that there is a whole world of creatures that are busy getting on with the lives right under our noses. These creatures, insects and their relatives, are fascinating animals and their world is full of wonderful stories.
In this special large format board book we go through the alphabet, meeting a new kind of insect for every letter from A to Z. Every letter appears on the pages, large, colorful and bold, and next to it there is a photograph of an insect species or insect family whose name begins with that letter. Then there is a short section of text that describes some of the insect’s characterizes or behavior.
For example, on the page for the letter P we meet the Potter Wasp. This cousin of the honeybee that we know so well has a very thin waist and bold yellow and black coloring. Instead of having a large nest in a tree or a hive box, these creatures build their small nests out of mud, “which sometimes look like vases.”
On the pages children will see familiar insects such as moths, butterflies, a dragonfly, a grasshopper, and wasps, but they will also see more exotic creatures such as a stick insect and a tree hopper.
This book not only helps children practice their alphabet, but it also introduces them to a fascinating family of animals that, if they look hard and are patient, they can observe for themselves.
