Friday, November 22, 2013

BUGS by George McGavin






Youngsters are fascinated by bugs whether they be insects, spiders or other creepy-crawlies boys and girls alike can spend hours watching them.  Here is a book simply titled BUGS that offers so much more.  It holds much larger than life pop-up bugs plus flaps and tabs that allow author and illustrator to show you the world of bugs.

For instance, pull a tab below a Fiddler Crab and their jointed legs appear.  Appearing below the Crab is an explanation that while scorpions, shrimp and crabs aren’t usually thought of as bugs they are arthropods just like beetles, ticks and centipedes.  There is a wealth of information to be found in Bugs while the lively illustrations and pop-ups will capture eyes time and time again.

Initially we learn that insects are the largest group of arthropods and there are around a million different species of insects.  This is followed by an eye-popping look at how bugs work - their circulation and breathing, mating and reproduction, nerves and senses, eating and digestion.  Next we are helped to understand why the world needs bugs and where they live.  Closing pages are devoted to a few of the author’s favorite bugs - the Goliath Beetle, which is the heaviest; the Seventeen-year Cicada, which has the longest life cycle, etc.

BUGS is a large (9 ½" by 10 ½ inch) book chock full of information.  Young ones ages 7 and up will spend hours going through it; adults may well be surprised at the engaging way the data is presented.

Highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

No comments: