Overview
More than HALF-A-MILLION Life-Size books have been sold—and kids are sure to go buggy over this new and super-sized vision of the insect world!Bugs: they’re the most successful animal group on earth and—in most cases—by far the ugliest. But that’s what makes them so compelling to look at. In this new spin on the best-selling Life-Size series, the teeming bug kingdom comes into view, bigger than ever and enlarged to staggering proportions. That’s because the book is packed with highly detailed electron microscope photographs, along with occasional real-size insect images beside them to give readers a true sense of scale. Children will get an amazing and up-close perspective on such creatures as the voraciously hungry caterpillar; the vividly colored Calleta Silkmoth, with blue-and-black spikes covering its body; a Swallowtail Butterfly emerging from its chrysalis; a bright orange Queen Hornet; and a deathly praying mantis, with its luminescent wings and killer pincers. Everything a kid loves is here: crushing mandibles, quivering antennae, hairy hooked legs, and intricate compound eyes. Plus, the back jacket turns into a 42 x 14 inch poster! You’ll feel as if you’re getting a privileged glimpse into an entirely different universe, and the scientific information accompanying the spectacular images is equally phenomenal.
Synopsis
More than HALF-A-MILLION Life-Size books have been sold—and kids are sure to go buggy over this new and super-sized vision of the insect world!
Bugs: they’re the most successful animal group on earth and—in most cases—by far the ugliest. But that’s what makes them so compelling to look at. In this new spin on the best-selling Life-Size series, the teeming bug kingdom comes into view, bigger than ever and enlarged to staggering proportions. That’s because the book is packed with highly detailed electron microscope photographs, along with occasional real-size insect images beside them to give readers a true sense of scale. Children will get an amazing and up-close perspective on such creatures as the voraciously hungry caterpillar; the vividly colored Calleta Silkmoth, with blue-and-black spikes covering its body; a Swallowtail Butterfly emerging from its chrysalis; a bright orange Queen Hornet; and a deathly praying mantis, with its luminescent wings and killer pincers. Everything a kid loves is here: crushing mandibles, quivering antennae, hairy hooked legs, and intricate compound eyes. Plus, the back jacket turns into a 42 x 14 inch poster! You’ll feel as if you’re getting a privileged glimpse into an entirely different universe, and the scientific information accompanying the spectacular images is equally phenomenal.
School Library Journal
Gr 2-6- From the scarlet whiplike tails of a Puss Moth caterpillar to the glittering armor of the Blue Ground Beetle, from the clustered eyes of a Greenbottle Blue Tarantula to the eerily alien face of the Devil's Flower Mantis, Davies introduces a host of insects made "super-size" by the camera lens. Paragraphs of text and detailed captions provide interesting snippets of information, but it is the superb photos that rivet the eye to these oversize pages. Similar in format to Hannah Wilson's Life-Size Reptiles (Sterling, 2007), and bigger than Diane Swanson's equally handsome Bugs Up Close (Kids Can, 2007), this book has 10 foldout pages (and oh! those foldouts!) and conceals a super-duper beetle poster on the reverse of the dust jacket. Eye-grabbing and informative, with a tidy amount of "eeyouw"-factor, this slim giant will engross monster lovers and budding entomologists alike.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Editorials
School Library Journal
Gr 2-6- From the scarlet whiplike tails of a Puss Moth caterpillar to the glittering armor of the Blue Ground Beetle, from the clustered eyes of a Greenbottle Blue Tarantula to the eerily alien face of the Devil's Flower Mantis, Davies introduces a host of insects made "super-size" by the camera lens. Paragraphs of text and detailed captions provide interesting snippets of information, but it is the superb photos that rivet the eye to these oversize pages. Similar in format to Hannah Wilson's Life-Size Reptiles (Sterling, 2007), and bigger than Diane Swanson's equally handsome Bugs Up Close (Kids Can, 2007), this book has 10 foldout pages (and oh! those foldouts!) and conceals a super-duper beetle poster on the reverse of the dust jacket. Eye-grabbing and informative, with a tidy amount of "eeyouw"-factor, this slim giant will engross monster lovers and budding entomologists alike.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY