One day in the afternoon, my children and I were surprised to find that there was a colony of ants in our kitchen. My kids were amazed by the ants. They studied how ants carry the teeny-tiny bread crumbs around the rooms. Inspired by my kids, I decided to make a book recommendation about bugs and insects. Bugs are everywhere. They live indoors, outdoors, on the ground, under the ground, and up in the sky. There are numerous kinds of bugs in the world. We understand that learning about bugs can be overwhelming, so we will divide the topic into 4 parts. Under the first part, we will recommend books which introduce the concepts of bugs and insects. For the rest of the parts, we will talk about games and activities regarding butterflies, bees, and ladybugs in detail.
Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Bob Barner: This is a good starting book for very young children. It introduces some bugs and insects. Also, there is a chart at the end of the book. Children can compare the differences between bugs.
Under One Rock: Bugs, Slugs & Other Ughs by Anthony D. Frederick: This is a book with lots of great vocabulary and detail about insects. Parents can review some of the vocabulary such as aerate, critters, soil, and sensitive after reading with children. In addition, parents can ask children questions about the bugs. What do ants make under the ground? Who are neighbors with the ants? How many eyes does the spider have? What runs down the beetle’s back? What do field crickets use to sing? What food do the crickets search for? What are the slugs covered with?
Everything Insects by National Geographic kids: This is a great scientific book for children who are 4.5 years and older. It explains the concept of insects and bugs. Children will also have the chance to learn the fun facts, life cycles ,and family tree about bugs.
Little Kids First Big Book of Bugs by National Geographic Kids: Different from the Everything Insects book, this book is more interactive for young children. The book categorizes bugs in a way that young children can easily relate. For example, all the social insects stay in one chapter. Insects which hop stay in one chapter.
Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose: Before we kill bugs, we probably need to give it a second thought. What impact can we cause if we kill the bugs? Every organism exists for a reason. The bottom line is that this story is a moral story. Parents can talk about empathy with children. How do we treat people who are vulnerable? Should we treat someone badly just because our friends said so?
The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle: It’s an engaging picture book for very young children. However, children will learn that only male crickets make sound from the book. In addition, children have the chance to learn about various insects.
Diary of A Fly/ Diary of A Worm/Diary of A Spider by Doreen Cronin : This series uses the bugs’ views to tell the stories about bugs. The funny critters use a diary format to present scientific facts to young readers. If animals could talk, they probably would share their feelings too.
Cecily Cicada by Kita Helmetag Murdock and Patsy Helmetag: Just like the title, it’s a book about cicadas. Where do cicadas live? What do cicadas eat? What will happen when they come out of the ground? You can find all the answers from the book.
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle: Spider can be a complicated topic for young children to learn. This book introduces spiders’ daily activities. In addition to spiders’ daily activities, this book also shows some other animals’ daily activities. Children can mimic those animals’ motions while reading the book.
I'm a Pill Bug by Yukihisa Tokuda: This book teaches you everything you need to know about pill bugs. You will learn about pill bugs’ habitat, food, life cycle, and predators. If you have a roly poly fan at home, this is a must read book!
A Pill Bug's Life by John Himmelman: This book introduces pill bugs from the perspective of a pill bug’s life cycle. Parents can talk about molting, mating, and life span with children while reading the book.
Fly Guy Series by Tedd Arnold, Todd Arnold: For early readers, this is a must read early reading series. It is a funny series about a boy and his pet fly. Because of the dialogue boxes, young readers won’t get intimidated by the long sentences. In addition, the funny stories just naturally attract early readers into the reading journey.
When you learn about insects and bugs with your children, we suggest you ask these questions before and after reading. Before reading, you can ask children what they Know about an insect and what they Want Know about the insect. After reading, you can ask children what they Learned about the insect. Hope you have a fun reading journey with your children about bugs!
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