Bugs Are Insects (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)

Rating:
Summary: I wish I could give this book 4.5 stars...
Review: My 3-year-old daughter is crazy about all the creepy crawly critters of the world, so I knew she would love this book, and her father and I think it's pretty cool as well. The cut paper illustrations are wonderful to look at, and the text is quite informative for readers of any age, yet it's accessible to even young preschoolers like mine.

However, I do have one criticism of the book, which is that it depicts crabs, lobsters, shrimps, and centipedes without offering any explanation of what kind of animals they are. The book also mentions spiders, scorpions, and daddy longlegs, and for these we are told that they are arachnids rather than insects, so why the lack of clarification for the other non-insect arthropods? It would have been very simple and logical for the text to include the information that crabs, lobsters, and shrimps belong to a group of animals called crustaceans, which is related to insects and arachnids, and that centipedes are members of another related group called myriapods. That's it, nothing more complicated would have been necessary... Or else don't introduce those animals at all. But don't make a point of putting them in the book only to say, "These are not insects," and then not bother to properly identify them for the reader; that's pointless and likely to leave many kids (and probably most parents) confused.

Still, the book is otherwise so nice, I wish it was possible to deduct only half a star from its rating for that one flaw.

Rating:
Summary: Very pleased with this series
Review: This book is a very good resource for study/teaching at the primary grade levels. The cut paper illustrations are beautiful and engaging. The text more than holds its own by giving young readers a chance to observe and compare many different kinds of insects and even an arachnid or two. Readers learn for themselves precisely 'what makes an insect an insect', while at the same time picking up a few good science vocabulary words and catching a glimpse of several dozens of different insects, (all of which are identified at the back of the book). Also included is a page with several suggestions for follow up activities.