Early Book Review: OMFG, BEES!: Bees Are So Amazing and You're About to Find Out Why by Matt Kracht

OMFG, BEES!: Bees Are So Amazing and You're About to Find Out Why by Matt Kracht is currently scheduled for release on March 23 2023. Are you ready for the ultimate bee book? With lighthearted watercolor and ink drawings, humorous quips, lists, and musings, OMFG, BEES! will show you just how important these esteemed bee-list celebrities really are. (Hint: We can't live without them.) Delving into various bee topics, from distinguishing between bees and not bees (very crucial), to exploring the absolute wonder that is bee behavior (they do a coded dance directing their bee friends to food, for crying out loud!), to divulging the mind-blowing bee-magic behind honey making (within some extremely intricate and precisely constructed hexagonal honeycomb, no big deal), and more, Kracht's ode to bees paints a charming and enthusiastic picture of our favorite pollinators.

OMFG, BEES! is a well researched source of bee related information. I greatly appreciated the voice of the author and the amount of thought that went into the research and illustrations to match the text and intent of the book. I have read many books on bees, since I find the decline of insects in general, and bees specifically, to be very concerning and I simply love learning about how amazing they are. I have to say that this book included more light hearted humor and straight forward talk than any of the other books on the subject that I can remember. I enjoy that Kracht and I share the same thoughts on bees and several not bees (like that wasps are 'vicious little turds') and the writing made me smile quite a bit through out the read. I also appreciated that a complete list of references was included along with sources for further reading. 

OMFG, BEES! is a engaging and interesting read that will both educate and entertain anyone vaguely interested in bees. 

Book Review: Illumibugs: Explore the World of Mini Beasts with your Magic 3 Color Lens by Barbara Taylor

Illumibugs: Explore the World of Mini Beasts with your Magic 3 Color Lens by Barbara Taylor is an interactive book that takes readers on a journey through the undergrowth with a magic three-color lens (included with the print edition) to discover over 180 minibeasts from every continent, under the sea, and even from prehistoric times. With your lens in hand, discover mini beast habitats, and learn more about the impressive insects and other creepy crawlies that scuttle and wriggle around the world. Your green lens reveals a habitat, spanning 7 continents, under the sea, and prehistoric times. Learn about the particular environments and challenges that minibeasts face here. Your red lens brings to life insects including beetles, butterflies, moths, flies, and wasps. Your blue lens uncovers the other invertebrate creepy crawlies from different mini beast families including worms, snails, and spiders. Fact pages fill in the details and guide you through a world bursting with life and color. Innovative illustrations from award-winning design duo Carnovsky make this a natural history like no other, with hundreds of places, plants, and creatures to discover on three layers of detailed artwork.

Illumibugs will capture the attention and interest of many young readers, and those that might be sharing the read with them. This is a book that I very much suggest reading in print rather than digital, because of the effects intended to be created with the three color lenses that are included with the book.  The digital copy does come with a QR code that allows readers to simulate the effects of the color lens, but I think the hands on version might be more fun for more tactile focused readers, while the digital version would be great for those that prefer digital devices or need to use adaptive technology. That being said, I thought the creativity and page layouts were very well done. I also thought that the information shared for each region and the creepy crawlies that live there were well chosen and well written. The information about each continent and the habitats was also well done. I like that a the chosen creatures showed some drastic differences between habitats while also showing how some creatures are different variations on the same species all around the world, and under the water. While not a comprehensive book about insects, arachnids, and other things considered bugs, this book could easily capture and keep the attention of young readers and spark interest and curiosity for further research. I think it will also hold up to repeated reads and studies with the colored lenses and without, just to see what things they might see that were previously missed. 

Audiobook Review: How Do Ants Survive a Flood?: A Book about Bugs by Chason McKay, Narrated by Jesús E. Martínez

How Do Ants Survive a Flood?: A Book about Bugs by Chason McKay, narrated by Jesús E. Martínez, is a children's nonfiction book. Have you ever wondered what makes bugs so special? The latest addition to the How Do series dives into all of the unique things spiders, worms, ladybugs, and many other insects can do. 

How Do Ants Survive a Flood? probably works better as a read along to go with the print edition, or as a print edition on its own. I liked the information in the book, and thought that the chosen facts and phrasing were very well done. However, as an adult listening to this book in the car I have to admit that the attempts to do the effect of chorused voices asking the different subject headers did not work for me, and I found some of the voices annoying. I understood the intent, to entertain and engage children, but you do not always need to be goofy to hold their attention. I also found the pauses to be problematic unless you have a print copy in hand and can use that time to study the pictures. I feel like this is a through back to the read along books with records that we had in my kindergarten days. I think used in that capacity this book and audiobook would be great, but as a stand alone audiobook I was less than thrilled. 

Audio Book Review: The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World by Oliver Milman Narrated by Liam Gerrard

The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World was written by Oliver Milman and the audio version was narrated by Liam Gerrard. From ants scurrying under leaf litter to bees able to fly higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, insects are everywhere. Three out of every four of our planet's known animal species are insects. In The Insect Crisis, Oliver Milman dives into the torrent of recent evidence that suggests this kaleidoscopic group of creatures is suffering the greatest existential crisis in its remarkable 400-million-year history. What is causing the collapse of the insect world? And what can be done to stem the loss of the miniature empires that hold aloft life as we know it? Milman explores this hidden emergency, arguing that its consequences could even rival climate change. He joins the scientists tracking the decline of insect populations across the globe, including the mountains of Mexico that host an epic, yet dwindling, migration of monarch butterflies; the verdant countryside of England that has been emptied of insect life; the gargantuan fields of US agriculture that have proved a killing ground for bees; and an offbeat experiment in Denmark that shows there aren't that many bugs splattering into your car windshield these days. These losses not only further tear at the tapestry of life on our degraded planet; they imperil everything we hold dear, from the food on our supermarket shelves to the medicines in our cabinets to the riot of nature that thrills and enlivens us.

The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World opened my eyes to the threats to insects I have never considered and how valuable even some of the least thought about or liked insects can be to the environment. Between climate change, industrial farming, and the ever stronger chemicals we have been using to limit weeds and pests insects are facing challenges they have never had to deal with before. Numbers of a wide variety of insects are declining and while some are latching on to the plight of bees and butterflies, the majority of the decline is ignored, considered a good thing, or simply forgotten because fighting to save the population of dung beetles is less publicity friendly than saving the pandas or whales. I enjoyed getting a look at the science involved in documenting this problem, and I thought the descriptions of the researchers involved were very amusing and interesting. The tone of the book was entertaining, with humor through out the book, but never making light of the seriousness of the problem. I thought that the narrator, Liam Gerrard, did a wonderful job of conveying the import and intent of the book. I also like that the book described some simple things we can do, things that farmers and governments can do, and things we all should do to protect insects and life as we know it. I also like that it was pointed out that even if mankind fails to change, as we have proven we are reluctant to do without financial gain, some insects will still survive and possibly thrive long after we have destroyed every way possible for our species to do the same. They just wont be the insects that we venerate and depend on for pollination, waste clean up, or other vital tasks around the would that we often forget about. 

The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World is a well research and written book that I found to be thought provoking and enlightening. 

Early Book Review: Burt the Beetle Doesn't Bite! by Ashley Spires

Burt the Beetle Doesn't Bite! by Ashley Spires is a nonfiction graphic novel for young readers currently scheduled for release on June 1 2021. 

Meet Burt, a ten-lined june beetle. He's sure he belongs in the category of bugs with superpower-like abilities. No, he can't carry 50 times his weight, like ants. No, he's not able to spray paralyzing venom, like some termites. No, he can't release a bad smell to repel predators, like stink bugs. What june beetles are known for is chasing porch lights and flailing their legs in the air --- does that count? Maybe Burt will just have to accept the truth. June beetles don't have any special abilities. But when some other bugs find themselves in perilous trouble that even their superpowers can't get them out of, Burt suddenly realizes there is one thing that he can do to save his friends --- and it's something that only a june beetle can do!

Burt the Beetle Doesn't Bite! is another winner from Spires. Burt is a beetle that wants to be a special as all the other creatures around him- but his positive attitude and good hugs are not nearly as cool as what everyone else can do, right? I loved he facts about june beetles and all the other critters Burt runs into. I also liked the personality of poor Burt, as he tries to look on the bright side even as he starts to doubt himself. I think many readers, or all ages, will recognize the spiral of doubt and worry that Burt feels. I think we have all been there at some point. And the understanding that some of the more goofy aspects of Burt's are what enables him to come to the rescue and keep himself safe. I really enjoyed the balance between science facts and the silly vibe that keeps the reader turning pages. The illustrations are equally interesting and engaging. It would do well both as a fun read and a starting point in lower grade classrooms talking about insects, nature, and character traits. I think young readers that like nonfiction about nature, humor, and graphic novels and picturebooks will greatly appreciate this book. 

Early Book Review: Odd Bods: The World's Unusual Animals by Julie Murphy

Odd Bods: The World's Unusual Animals by Julie Murphy is a nonfiction book for young readers which is currently scheduled for release on March 2 2021. Long snouts, bright-red lips, pointy heads; the animal kingdom is full of critters with unique features. Learn about the incredible adaptations that help these creatures, and their odd bods, survive and thrive all around the globe! This album introduces strikingly unusual looking members of the animal kingdom from around the world.

Odd Bods is a great look at some of the unusual creatures we share the planet with. I have always loved the underdog, the oddball creatures with so ugly they are cute faces and strange abilities. This book gave me bold, full color, photographs of some of these creatures along with simple text that let readers know how that odd feature helps them survive. Sometimes as camouflage,  or to help them eat or drink in their environments, and sometimes to help build a cozy home. I really liked that at the end of the book there is even more information about the featured creatures, and suggestions for further reading. I think this is a must have for young readers with a love for animals and science, including in lower grade classrooms and libraries.

Early Book Review: Bugs in Danger: Our Vanishing Bees, Butterflies, and Beetles by Mark Kurlansky, Jia Liu

Bugs in Danger: Our Vanishing Bees, Butterflies, and Beetles is a children's non fiction book written by Mark Kurlansky and illustrated by Jia Liu. It is currently scheduled for release on November 12 2019. 

By now you’ve probably heard that bees are disappearing, and they aren’t the only species at risk. Populations of fireflies, butterflies, and ladybugs have also been declining in recent years. This book explains the growth, spread, and recent declines of each of these four types of insects. It looks at the human causes, like the Baltimore electric company that collected fireflies to attempt to harness their phosphorescent lighting source, to natural occurrences, like the mysterious colony collapse disorder that plagues bee populations. This book makes an effort to show just how much bugs matter to our world.

Bugs in Danger is a well researched, organized, and written nonfiction book. It is fairly dense, to cover all the necessary information, so I would recommend it for middle grade and higher level reader- and adults. I will admit that there were a few moments in the technical explanation about the classifications of life that my eyes and mind wandered a bit. Since this is very early in the book, I worry that some less than dedicated readers might zone out, or maybe just skip ahead. While I have read quite a bit about butterflies and bees, I learned more about those insects and more about critters that I never gave much thought to. There is simply so much information here that I would recommend taking it one section at a time, and I think it would stand up well to multiple revisits. The illustrations are small, and add some visual interest to the read. I found that the text boxes that are scattered through the book also include interesting information and helped break up some of the text. The inclusion of suggestions for what readers can do are doable, I love when authors include the simple things that can help make change, not just the big action. This makes it much more likely that people will make the effort to make some change, and then maybe more as they get comfortable. I liked that the author gave readers a bibliography, that separated out some resources for younger readers and included the most useful website that they know of on the topic. 

Bugs in Danger is an extremely informative book about the insects in our world, their importance, and what factors are affecting their decline. I recommend it for readers with interest in the insect world, the environment, and science. It would be an asset to classrooms and libraries. 

Early Book Review: Megabugs: And Other Prehistoric Critters That Roamed the Planet by Helaine Becker, John Bindon

Megabugs: And Other Prehistoric Critters That Roamed the Planet, written by Helaine Becker and illustrated by John Bindon, is currently scheduled for release on October 1 2019. Can you imagine a bug the size of a small crocodile? How about one bigger than a large basketball player? As scary as it may seem, supersized, insect-like critters such as these roamed Earth long before humans. In this peek into prehistory, award-winning science writer Helaine Becker introduces seven of these megabugs, the ancestors of modern-day insects, spiders, crabs and other arthropods, which lived from 480 million to 47 million years ago. The book explores when, where, and how they each lived, why they grew so big and what caused their extinction. Highly realistic illustrations show each megabug in its habitat. Each spread features one animal and loads of visuals --- such as a size chart that shows how big the animal could grow, a timeline placing it in its geological period and a map of where its fossils have been discovered. Sidebars provide further context on such topics as adaptation, fossils and the Permian Extinction. 

Megabugs is a very well written and informative book that hits a great balance. It is high interest with very accessible writing that does not talk down to readers or feel condescending due to the ease of reading. This can be a hard balance to strike, but I think they hit it perfectly here. I thought I had a good understanding of the critters that have, or currently, live on our planet due to my daughter's animal obsession and the amount of documentaries and non fiction reads we have shared. However, I did learn quite a bit from reading this, and had some of my understanding confirmed or expanded on. The organization of creatures of the past, today, and possibilities of creatures of tomorrow was good- and I liked seeing the size comparisons. I liked the charts and detailed diagrams of the creatures discussed- and found the illustrations of the creatures in their habitats to be very realistic and bold.I sometimes had to stop and just admire the skill and detail in the images and graphs because they were just that well done.  I thought the inclusion of a detailed glossary, suggestions for further reading, and index were important, and are sadly skipped too often. I think this book would be valuable for a wide range of interested readers. 

Megabugs is a great non fiction book for children and adults that have any interest in the history, present, and future of the creatures others might consider creepy crawlies. It is very well done and holds up well to multiple reads.

Book Review: Santiago: True Tales of a Little Bug in a Big World by Jennifer Vitanzo

Santiago: True Tales of a Little Bug in a Big World by Jennifer Vitanzo is currently scheduled for release today, June 5 2019. This is the true story of a wild praying mantis named Santiago and his many unusual adventures across South Africa with his adoptive family—two adult humans, three stuffed animals, a rotating cast of mantis‑sitters, and (for a short time, at least) a pigeon. All told from the mantis’s perspective, of course. His life of a newly hatched praying mantis takes an unexpected turn when he hitches a ride on a flower and ends up in a human’s kitchen. Now faced with surviving in an unknown land, he must learn to navigate the challenges of vacuums, dust bunnies, stovetops, and, most confusing of all, human beings. How will he survive in such an alien world?

Santiago: True Tales of a Little Bug in a Big World is the story of one little bug living in a human world, and discovering things about life in a house with humans, as well as how his own body grows. I loved how facts about mantises and other creatures are shared right along with information about Santiago's adopted family and  his particular adventures. The illustrations, informational text boxes, and photographs were a great addition to the book, and I really enjoyed them. There was plenty of humor right along with the information, and I found the unique perspective to be very entertaining to read and I think it will make many readers stop to think about some of the absurdity of human life, and how special some of the smallest lives can be. The tone of the book and the topics kept me engaged and reading long after I should have gotten up to do other things, but it was so worth it. I am adding this to my daughter's summer birthday gift and I think she will love it just as much as I did, if not more. 

Santiago: True Tales of a Little Bug in a Big World is a clever and delightful read. I highly recommend it for children and adults alike.

Book Review: Minibeasts: True Rulers of Our World and the Key to our Survival by Alan Henderson

Minibeasts: True Rulers of Our World and the Key to our Survival by Alan Henderson offers readers insight into the micro world of the minibeasts reveals the critical roles these true rulers of our world play in our future survival. Simply put, without the invertebrates (insects) and other tiny critters, humans would not survive. While outlining the importance of the minibeast world, this book is also a visual feast of detail and color, capturing form and behavior that the naked eye isn’t normally able to see when encountering these small creatures. The result is a book that captivates the reader while at the same time inspiring a new appreciation for these magnificent animals. Lavishly illustrated with breathtaking macro-photography, each chapter focuses on a specific aspect of minibeasts and includes introductory text followed by images and informative captions. Among the topics covered are the jobs minibeasts perform that enable life on earth to exist, as well as the ways in which they have evolved to suit their environments and how we borrow ideas from them in the fields of biotechnology, engineering and design. As we will come to realize, from new medical drugs to hi-tech robotics, minibeasts provide a wealth of material for humans to draw on to help solve our 21-century problems.

Minibeasts is a fascinating book for the photography alone. The close up images of the insects are simply amazing ad well worth looking at all on their own. Add in the details about their adaptation and tricks to survive and this book is one that will stand up to multiple explorations. So many people think of the little creatures of the world as nothing more than pests or problems, but this book shows us the complexity, beauty, and ingenuity of these creatures as well as the role the play in the world.  The text is solid, in depth enough that I learned a great deal and was highly engaged, but not so technical that I ever felt left behind or talked down to. There is even some humor in the chapter headings and information, so there is really nothing I can find to say against reading this book- unless of course the very idea of anything creepy crawly makes you shudder.  I think that young adults and interested middle graders would get just as much from this book as any interested adult. 

Minibeasts is a visually stunning book and a very informative read. I think that this should be in libraries and personal collections for anyone that is even vaguely interested in photography, biology, and the natural world.

Book Review: Bug Girl (Bug Girl, #1) by Benjamin Harper, Sarah Hines-Stephens, Anoosha Syed

Bug Girl is the first book in a series by the same title by Benjamin Harper, Sarah Hines-Stephens, and Anoosha Syed. Amanda Price adores all things bug-related—from spiders to mantises. Unfortunately, most of her fellow sixth-graders do not share her invertebrate obsession. They’re grossed out by it. Especially Amanda’s ex-best friend, Emily, who thinks Amanda is creepy weird. But when mysterious invaders menace the town of Oyster Cove and take both Amanda and Emily’s mothers captive, Amanda unexpectedly develops amazing insect powers! Newly equipped with antennae and a glistening exoskeleton she uncovers a secret that changes everything. Now Amanda has to act fast or her town and her mom are doomed! There’s just one complication, she needs Emily’s help. Suddenly Amanda’s worst enemy becomes her best ally, but working together may be even harder than saving their town.

Bug Girl is a story that is not just about gaining superpowers and saving your home town. The real heart of the story is about Amanda being true to herself, and finding her way through the changes of middle school, and becoming a superheroes of course. I liked that Amanda faces bullying and social issues, but remains true to her interests and self rather than falling in line with the rest. The fact that her former best friend Emily has falling into step with the rest of the school makes that harder, but she finds her own way despite the loss of her best friend and the teasing that co,mes with having a passion about something that is not approved of by the popular crowd in middle school. Then when the super powers and conflict arise, she just continues to grow as a person, not just focusing on the powers. I really liked the coming of age tale, and the message of being true to yourself. The knowledge that we are all stronger than we know is a strong thread through the story as well. Readers that feel like they are on the outside, different, or bullied (which I think every one feels at some point) will definitely enjoy the read and connect with the characters.

Bug Girl is a charming story with a great deal of heart, and some serious action. I liked the blend of facts about insects and the fun adventure and growth that Amanda faces. I think this will be a win with elementary and middle school readers.