Bugs

Pamela Hickman and Carolyn Gavin’s book, Bugs, is part of the new Kids Can Press “Nature All Around” series of informational picture books. As the title suggests, the book presents general information about bugs and includes discussion of specific North American examples. What the simple book title might not suggest is that this book is filled to overflowing with interesting facts and details. In the hands of skilled creators like Hickman and Gavin, the world of bugs is fascinating. While the book is primarily about insects, Hickman points out that not all bugs are insects. Centipedes, spiders, snails, louse, and other creatures are discussed as “insect imposters”.

The book is organized in somewhat of an “information to participation” order in that it begins with pages of material about bugs and then concludes with information about bug-watching, sustainability (endangered bugs), and “how to” directions for a reader to construct an insect feeder. Information throughout the book is presented in double-page spreads on topics ranging from body parts and appearance, growth and life cycles, habitats, seasonal changes and, as mentioned, bug-watching. In her written text, Hickman maintains a nice balance of general and specific information. The general information is supported with reference to specific species of bugs. This written text is augmented throughout with Gavin’s vibrantly coloured illustrations.
The inclusion of text features like a table of contents, an index, and a glossary all enhance the book and make it “user friendly”. The glossary defines 37 words including such items as arachnid, pollination, thorax, and nymph.

Young readers will enjoy interacting with Hickman and Gavin’s work at home or in a classroom setting. If a teacher were to use the book in an Early Years classroom, it could be used either for instructional support or recreational reading. Bugs would certainly be a good resource for science topics including characteristics of living things, growth and changes, outdoor education, land-based learning, and sustainability. The nonfiction text structures also make the book a potentially useful resource in a language arts class.

Hickman’s text is age-appropriate for her young audience but is still precisely correct and highly informative. Gavin’s artwork for the book was created in watercolour and gouache. Like Hickman, Gavin’s work is detailed and precisely accurate. This is especially helpful in “Beginning Bug-Watching” wherein there is a particularly interesting and informative section about distinctions between such things as butterflies and moths, dragonflies and damselflies, and bees and wasps.

Bugs has many strengths. It is highly engaging and accessible to a range of readers and learners. It is suitable for recreational reading or for research for, say, a young person’s classroom report. It is suitable for a young person to read independently or for a teacher to use as a classroom nonfiction read aloud. There is informational and theoretical content, yet there are also hands-on activities and challenges for learners to engage with the topic beyond the pages of the book. In summary, Bugs is a finely balanced work of great quality. An appropriate one-word review would simply be: fascinating.