Nonfiction Books

From Caterpillar to Butterfly (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1)

Deborah Heiligman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Mom of two 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent book- my 3 & 5 yr. olds loved it, and it was easy enough for them to understand, yet descriptive enough that they were intrigued. We bought it in preparation for buying a butterfly habitat to watch the process ourselves. Great learning experience.

Loved this book. 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book with the butterfly graden and we gave it as a birthday present. By the time the caterpillars came in the mail she was so excited and she new everything that was going to happen. This was propbably the best birthday gift I could have given an animal loving child. I will give this gift over and over again.

From Caterpillar to Butterfly 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I am very much impressed with this series of books, as I have ordered 4 of them. Your service is great and I continue to enjoy doing business with you.

Editorial Review:

A caterpillar comes to school in a jar. The class watches the caterpillar each day as it grows and changes. Soon, it disappears into a hard shell called a chrysalis. Then the chrysalis breaks, and a beautiful butterfly flies out of the jar! This is a perfect beginner's guide to the mystery of metamorphosis.

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children 1997 (NSTA/CBC)

The Life and Times of the Ant

Charles Micucci

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

alot of great info on ants 4 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

The Life and Time of the Ant is a cartoon type book all about ants. We learn lots of neat things about the ant family. We leaned how they communicate, about the parts of an ant's body, and all about the various kids of any in the world. One section of the book is about hoe important the ant is in the Rain Forest. We are told that ants eat insect pests, plant gardens in trees, removing decaying animals from the forest floor, and thin out plants that over crowd the forest.

The pictures are drawn in a cartoon like style. They were neat to look at while reading.

This would make a great read aloud for elementry classroom during a science unit on ants. Lots of great information is presented in a kid friendly way.

Editorial Review:

Not mighty in size, but mighty in resourcefulness and industry, the ant has crawled the earth since prehistoric times. It has dwelt in rainforest tree trunks and acorns of oak trees, beneath logs, and under sidewalks. It has protected forests by capturing insects, cleared weeds away from acacia trees, and by growing gardens has released important nutrients into the soil. Seed lifters, dirt diggers, social beings, ants have the most advanced brain of all insects! So watch where you step, especially on a warm day: a small but mighty ant may be underfoot.

Big Book of Bugs

Theresa Greenaway

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

4yr old loves this book! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

My 4yr son recieved this for his birthday and absolutely loves it! The real life pictures are fantastic, and lets him see what the insects really look like. I would recommend this book anyone who has a young "bug lover".

Great Book! 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

We purchased this for our 7 year old grandson. It has great illustrations and big print. He is able to read most of the information. I think it could include a little more detail about each bug, but, overall it is a good, educational book.

Editorial Review:

The most amazing, unusual, and fantastic bugs in the world!

The newest addition to DK's Big Book of series is Big Book of Bugs - the up-close and personal book for young entomologists and all curious kids who are fascinated with bugs. Look right into a spider's eye and get tangled in its web! Marvel at the stunning pictures of teeny tiny creepy crawlies blown up to extraordinary sizes. Engaging annotations provide buggy facts and figures. Larger than life photographs of creepy crawlies include locusts, caterpillars, beetles, flies, grasshoppers, ants, praying mantis, and more!

Everything Bug: What Kids Really Want to Know about Bugs (Kids' FAQs)

Cherie Winner

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Fascinating fun! 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.

Some kids only go to science books when they have to write a report. EVERYTHING BUG makes reading non-fiction fun! (My daughter took it to the couch and just read it because it was so captivating). The beautiful, enticing photos combine with the lively writing to make a fabulous read for anyone (current bug enthusiast or future one). It's not intimidating like some non-fiction. Just pop it open anywhere and find something fascinating. A great way to excite kids about reading science!

The Perfect Gift for the Reluctant Reader on Your List 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 13 people found this review helpful.

Is it gross? Is it weird? Is it almost like an alien? Readers will find out about it in this accessable volume. All the latest information about the bizarre world of insects is presented in an appealing, richly-illustrated format. Boys will discover a rich source of disgusting information to share at the dinner table, while acquiring appetites for both science and reading. Cherie Winner's other books are similarly rewarding.

Editorial Review:

Question-and-answer format brings (readers) right to the topics that interest the most. Accessible and photo-packed.--BOOKLIST Clear, full-color photos provide close-up views of various species. This is a fun treat for browsers. --SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

Paul Fleischman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent Resource for Poetry Exposure in the Classroom 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

"Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices" can be enjoyed by anyone who has an interest in poetry, but I believe it will be a wonderful classroom resource. Literature involves not only novels, but also poetry." Joyful Noise" can be read by the entire class, allowing everyone to participate. The verses can be challenging (and the vocabulary is suited for older students), but it is fun and entertaining to attempt to read them correctly. "Joyful Noise" can also be used across the curriculum. The poems are about insects (I especially love the poem 'Fireflies'), and they would be ideal for integration into science lessons, with children researching an insect from the book. Students could do art after reading one of these poems, creating pictures to describe what they've read. Writing skills could be built by allowing students to create their own poems for two voices. Vocabulary could be strengthened by, as a class, looking up the more difficult words and clarifiying everyone's understanding. All in all, this is a very special book, whether it's kept for personal enjoyment or is shared with children!

Editorial Review:

Written to be read aloud by two voices––sometimes alternating, sometimes simultaneous––here is a collection of irresistible poems that celebrate the insect world, from the short life of the mayfly to the love song of the book louse. Funny, sad, loud, and quiet, each of these poems resounds with a booming, boisterous, joyful noise.

In this remarkable volume of poetry for two voices, Paul Fleischman verbally re–creates the "Booming/boisterious/joyful noise" of insects. The poems resound with the pulse of the cicada and the drone of the honeybee. Eric Beddows's vibrant drawings send each insect soaring, spinning, or creeping off the page in its own unique way.

A clear and fascinating guide to the insect world––from chrysalid butterflies to whirligig beetles–– and an exultant celebration of life.

Ages 6+

Simon & Schuster Children's Guide to Insects and Spiders

Jinny Johnson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great bug stuff for kids 5 out of 5 stars.
32 of 33 people found this review helpful.

Our kids loved this book! Not only was it written well enough to keep their interest but it left them wanting more! The descriptions were detailed enough for young minds but did not become a lecture so that they "glazed over". It made our kids enjoy their learning time. The illustrations were large, detailed and numerous. This book was great for the ages it was written for and even younger; as our three and five year olds loved the pictures and started asking questions right away! This was an over all great book to help get a kid's thirst for learning started!

Great "bug book" 5 out of 5 stars.
17 of 18 people found this review helpful.

My 3-year-old grandson is a big Spider-man fan, and he told me he wanted a book about spiders and "bugs." I bought this book because I liked the illustrations. They were clear and accurate, but not frightening. My grandson loves it. He actually goes to bed with it. He and I alternate pointing to the pictures and asking each other, "What is this?" Even though the text is for much older children, the pictures are ageless.

Editorial Review:

A detailed introduction to spiders and insects contains information about every major group of arachnids and insects, hundreds of thought-provoking facts, and full-color pictures and photographs."

On Beyond Bugs: All About Insects (Cat in the Hat's Lrning Libry)

Tish Rabe

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Insects thank Cat in the Hat for good PR 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I got this book for a 4 yr old daughter of a friend and she's now intrigued by the insect world. Personally I love how the bumble bee illustration has taught her about how bees communicate through the bumble bee "dance." On the whole, it's nicely educational on an introductory level -- general facts/concepts are taught through illustrations and rhyme. Great for the young ones. Another favorite of mine is the Dr. Seuss Great Big Flap Book.

Great Fun! 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book for my 4-year old son and he loves it! My husband and I love reading it to him and his baby sister who often also listens along. The book is educational yet great fun to read with its rhyming and fun verses. It teaches without being heavy-handed and even taught us, the parents, a thing or two we didn't know about the insect world! We all enjoy this book tremendously and love the other Cat in the Hat Learning series books as well.

Editorial Review:

Find out all you ever wanted to know about insects when the Cat and company get an up-close view of life as a bug. Kids will learn how insects -- from the spittlebug to the honeybee to the moth -- see, smell, communicate, and pollinate, as well as sometimes pester and amaze and generally make life better for us humans. Catch the bug buzz with the Cat in the Hat and all his friends!

My, Oh My--A Butterfly!: All About Butterflies (Cat in the Hat's Lrning Libry)

Tish Rabe

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Butterfly Bonanza 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a great book for kids -- lots of interesting information presented in a fun way.

My 7 year old loves these books! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My 7 year old son loves these books. Especially since he's learning a lot of these subjects in 1st grade. He keeps checking these books out at the library so I know it's a safe bet. I catch my 10 & 9 yr old girls reading them too! My 4 yr old will listen to them occasionally being read aloud. I am excited that there is a fun way for kids to learn about science.

My, Oh My, A Butterfly! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I recommend this book and all the others in the series. They are each around 45 pages of fun facts that our grandson, not quite 3 years old, loved. He kept asking for more, and sat through three books in one sitting. He later repeated facts from the books, showing that he was really listening and learning.

Editorial Review:

With a little help from the Cat in the Hat, Sally and Dick observe a small miracle in their own backyard—the metamorphosis of an egg into a caterpillar into a chrysalis into a bright new butterfly! Along the way, beginning readers will find out how butterflies see thousands of images at once, drink nectar from flowers, avoid predators, and can be identified by size, shape, and color. Readers will also follow the amazing migration of millions of monarchs.

The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive

Joanna Cole

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Bee-siest Field Trip of All Time 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

"The Magic School Bus: Inside a Beehive" represents a slight departure for author, Joanna Cole, and illustrator, Bruce Degen. Written in 1996, this book could easily have been all about our friends, the insects. Because, as student Dorothy Ann explains in the opening pages, "There are more insect species on earth than all other animals put together!" Indeed, you need look no farther than your own backyard (or a few dusty corners of your home) to find bugs of all shapes and sizes crawling around, buzzing about, and foraging for food.

However, Cole and Degen chose to shine their respective spotlight on one insect in particular. Not that this is a bad thing. In fact, it's the exact opposite. According to Florrie, another student of Ms. Frizzle, "There are more than 20,000 different kinds of bees." And the word "bee" itself conjures up all sorts of emotions in people. Some are deathly afraid of them; others have been stung and know the pain a sting induces; and then there are those who are allergic to these insects.

But is that all there is to the bee? Is it really the little stinging monster we think it is? Or is there something more to this delicate creature than we know? And this, readers, is where Cole, Degen, a band of students, and some teacher nicknamed the Friz, enter the picture. For they are going to set the record straight, once and for all, about what the nature of bees really entails.

Our latest adventure starts out with Ms. Frizzle and her students studying insects, such as ants and cockroaches and goliath beetles. She has also arranged a field trip to a local honeybee hive.

"The beekeeper is visiting his hives today," says the Friz. "We'll meet him there." And with that she sweeps out the door.

"Maybe this will be a normal field trip for a change," one student expresses to another.

With Ms. Frizzle, only the most adventurous teacher in the entire known universe, at the helm? Don't bet on it! However, as it turns out, she does have a normal field trip in store this time. She even brings along a picnic basket while she and the students wait for the beekeeper to arrive.

Then it happens. The moment at which this otherwise regular field trip takes a sharp turn into irregular. While attempting to open a jar of honey -- "Some light refreshments will pass the time while we wait," says the Friz -- she accidentally knocks her elbow against a strange lever. The bus shrinks faster than a student can say, "Great galloping gargoyles!" And, to no one's surprise, students and teacher are magically transformed into bees.

Readers and students alike learn all sorts of bee-utiful facts about these insects in Cole and Degen's latest entry into science for children. Did you know the average bee visits thousands of flowers every day? Or that, sometimes, an entire hive may "adopt" a lost bee if it is carrying a lot of food? How, exactly, does a bee, while gathering nectar for the hive, manage to pollinate all those flowers at the same time? What tasks are different bees assigned once inside the hive? Do they really communicate with one another by performing a bee dance? Readers will be amazed when they discover how many eggs the queen bee lays each day, and they'll be even more surprised when they see what happens when two queen bees are born at the same time inside the hive.

By focusing on just one insect in particular, Cole and Degen manage to "humanize" the bee. Meaning, through their research and attention to detail, they have made the bee less scary than it actually is. Do bees go around looking for people to sting? Of course not. As explained in the story, a sting is not particular conducive to the bee giving it or the person on the receiving end of it.

Besides the excellent writing and fabulous artwork (a staple of any collaboration between Cole and Degen), there are two other aspects of this story that work well for it. Borrowing a page out of Jan Brett's playbook ("The Hat" and "The Mitten"), Cole uses the "story within a story" technique to great effect here. While Ms. Frizzle and her students are buzzing around, we see snippets of why the beekeeper is late, as well as hints of danger to come for teacher, students and the bees! Anyone who's read the "Jesse Bear" series (also wonderfully illustrated by Degen) will instantly recognize the bear invading this story.

Not wanting to break with tradition, Cole and Degen explain, at the end of their latest offering, what was fact in the story and what was made up. They also provide a subtle -- or not so subtle -- hint of what lays in store for the Friz and her students for their next field trip. It will be a shock, no doubt; one readers will definitely get a charge out of!

As Ms. Frizzle herself would say, "Bee of good cheer, class. We're on our way!"

Editorial Review:

When the Magic School Bus turns into a beehive, Ms. Frizzle's class learns firsthand about how workers, drones, and the queen bees live together. Readers will be abuzz with knowledge as they discover how honeybees find food; make a comb, honey, and beeswax; and care for their young, all from the bee's perspective.

Ant Cities (Spanish edition): Ciudades de hormigas (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Ant Cities/ciudades de hormigas 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Excellent resource for curriculum unit on social insects, ants, cooperation for pk-k.

Editorial Review:

Aprende y Descubre La Ciencia

Ciudades de hormigas

¿Te preguntaste alguna vez adónde van las hormigas cuando desaparecen por el hoyo de su hormiguero? Es muy posible que debajo de ese montículo de tierra existan miles de túneles y cientos de habitaciones. ¡Lee este libro y aprende a crear tu propia granja de hormigas!