Bugs

Children's Literature

When is a bug not a bug? When it's a mealybug (scale), a ladybug (beetle), a potato bug (beetle), a pill bug (crustacean), a sow bug (crustacean), or a doodlebug. In the first of three sections, students get the facts about true bugs. Author Pascoe sets out to define true bugs with their six legs, three main body parts, compound eyes, exoskeleton, and antennae. This part covers their scientific classification (Hemiptera), piercing and sucking mouthparts, reasons for muted or bright coloration, the three life stages (egg, nymph, and adult), bug plant feeders and predators, and bugs that live in water. In "Collecting and Caring for Bugs" (section 2), the author details where to find and how to care for milkweed bugs. In "Investigating Bugs" (section 3), the author sets up a number of easy experiments—some with step-by-step instructions, a paragraph on results to check for, and a conclusion. Experiments cover topics like "Do ambush bugs like their prey dead or alive?" and "Do milkweed bugs grow faster in warm or cool temperatures?" Assassin bugs, squash bugs, milkweed bugs, stink bugs...their photos are blown up so large that you easily see legs, mouths, and other important parts. Forty-eight pages in length, this book includes an index, book and website references, a glossary, and sources for buying bugs. Other additions to the "Nature Close-up" series in 2004 include Ant Lions and Lacewings and Carnivorous Plants. 2004, Blackbirch Press/The Gale Group, Ages 8 to 12.
—Chris Gill