Picture Books about Bugs

February 28 – Celebrating the Book Birthday of Bug Catchers (Dirt and Bugsy)

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I’d like to thank Penguin Young Readers for sharing a digital copy of Bug Catchers with me for review consideration. All opinions on the book are my own.

Bug Catchers (Dirt and Bugsy)

Written by Megan Litwin | Illustrated by Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn

 

Dirt and Bugsy are friends who have a particular favorite hobby in common—they love bugs! And more than that, they love to catch bugs. Every day they get together to search out all kinds of bugs. Dirt brings the shovel, and Bugsy brings jars. To find bugs, “they spy. They dig. They lift. They sift.” Soon there are bugs everywhere—even climbing “up arms. Down legs. All around the ground.”

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Image copyright Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn, 2023, text copyright Megan Litwin, 2023. Courtesy of Penguin Young Readers.

This afternoon as Dirt and Bugsy are searching for bugs, it starts to rain. The “bug boys” don’t mind, in fact the rain gives them a great idea. They decide to build a shelter for them and the bugs to play in. Bugsy and Dirt hurry to collect building materials. It doesn’t take long for them to assemble their sticks and jars, rocks, boxes, and bandanas into a cozy bug barn. There’s just one thing they don’t have: bugs!

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Image copyright Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn, 2023, text copyright Megan Litwin, 2023. Courtesy of Penguin Young Readers.

Dirt and Bugsy know just what to do. “They spy. They dig. They lift. They sift.” Soon they’ve caught all sorts of bugs—some that fly, some that creep, some that wriggle. Each bug has a room and some food and while it rains, Bugsy and Dirt and the bugs hang out and play games. When the rain ends, the bugs all go back to their homes and Dirt and Bugsy head home too. They know they’ll catch up again tomorrow.

Front matter includes a note to parents and educators explaining the numerical and alphabetical levels of each Penguin Young Readers book and then specifies which easy-to-read level (2) and F&P Text Level (I) Bug Catchers feature as well as the skills a Progressing Reader should have to enjoy the book. An activity to help children make personal connections and think in a problem solving way about the story are also included. Back matter includes an easy step-by-step list for catching and releasing bugs.

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Image copyright Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn, 2023, text copyright Megan Litwin, 2023. Courtesy of Penguin Young Readers.

Megan Litwin, a former classroom teacher, knows how to capture burgeoning readers’ attention and imaginations with her exuberant story of two boys who love being outside, playing and working together, and catching bugs. Her sentences—some only two words long that emphasize the noun/subject and verb construction and others that are a more complex as she slowly introduces pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, and other parts of speech—are varied and action-packed, keeping kids reading on to find out what happens. Repeated words and phrases, sprinkled with rhyming pairs, not only serve to build the story but also excitement and confidence in young readers. In her well-crafted story, Litwin also incorporates nature science and the important mathematical concept of sorting.

Providing visual backup to all of these ideas, Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn invites kids to join Dirt and Bugsy on their bug hunt in her vibrant illustrations that clearly show the two “bug boys” searching and catching bugs, gathering supplies, building the bug barn, and having a great time together. Children are introduced to a wide variety of bugs that are beautifully and realistically drawn and that will no doubt prompt them to learn more about each type. To help kids understand the idea of sorting, Panczyszyn groups bugs that crawl, fly, slide, and hide in squares of their own environmentally correct backgrounds. Dirt and Bugsy have infectious smiles and unflagging enthusiasm for their favorite hobby, just two of the traits that will draw readers to them again and again as they develop their reading proficiency.

A wonderfully conceived beginning to a welcome young readers series, Bug Catchers (Dirt & Bugsy) offers children a robust reading experience that can easily be extended with the provided activities as well as kids’ own ideas. The book maintains its fresh feeling of excitement through multiple readings and is a must for any developing reader at home as well as for classroom, school, and public library collections.

Ages 6 – 7 (Approximately. Children below and above this age range will enjoy practicing their skills with this book.)

Penguin Young Readers, 2023 | ISBN 978-0593519929 (Hardcover) | ISBN 978-0593519912 (Paperback)

About the Author

Megan Litwin is the author of the picture book Twinkle, Twinkle, Winter Night, which released in 2022. She is also the author of the forthcoming early reader series, Dirt & Bugsy, with the first two books coming in 2023. Megan holds a Master of Arts in Children’s Literature from Simmons University and is a former classroom teacher whose lifelong work is to grow lifelong readers. Megan lives in Massachusetts with her family, where she enjoys visiting schools across the state and connecting with young readers and writers. She invites you to visit her at meganlitwinbooks.com.

About the Illustrator

Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn is a lettering artist and illustrator located in the Chicago area where she works out of her home studio with her studio pup, Teddy Bear. She’s been working professionally since 2010 and has worked with clients such as Dear Evan Hansen, Adobe, Facebook, and many others. She is also one of the authors of Creative Lettering & Beyond from Walter Foster Publishing. In her free time you can find her at the local ice rink skating, drinking chai lattes in the local coffee shop, or snuggling her dog. Shauna Lynn has been drawing since she could hold a pencil and created her first mural on her parent’s condo wall at the age of 3. After a short detour where she went to the University of North Florida to study Opera, she switched over to graphic design, and finally settled into illustration. You can find her at shaunalynn.com.

Bug Catchers Activity

CPB - Nasty Bugs magnet II (2)

Bring Your Favorite Bugs Inside!

 

With this easy craft, kids can have fun with bugs inside while the real bugs stay outside! Smooth stones are a natural canvas for pictures of your favorite bugs! With a little bit of paint, jewelry pins, or magnets, and some imagination, you can make refrigerator magnets, jewelry, paper weights, and more!

Supplies

  • Smooth stones in various sizes
  • Paint or markers
  • Small magnets, available at craft stores
  • Jewelry pins, available at craft stores
  • Paint brush
  • Strong glue

Directions

To make magnets

  1. Design and paint an image on a light-weight stone
  2. Attach a magnet to the back with strong glue

To make jewelry

  1. Paint your bug on a smaller, flatter stone
  2. Attach a jewelry pin to the back with strong glue

To make a paperweight

  1. Paint a bug or many bugs on a larger, heavier stone

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You can find Bug Catchers (Dirt and Bugsy) at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

August 9 – National Book Lovers Day

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About the Holiday

If you love to read, then today is a day to celebrate! National Book Lovers Day has a simple goal: to provide a day for bibliophiles to indulge their passion. With so many incredible books available—both fiction and nonfiction—on every imaginable topic and for all ages, it’s easy to fill the day with old favorites and new finds (like today’s book, which is launching into the world today!) So, visit your local bookstore or library, grab some snacks, and settle in for a day of reading for yourself and with your kids!

Thanks go to Tundra Books for sending me a copy of If You Cry Like a Fountain to me for review consideration. All opinions on the book are my own.

If You Cry Like a Fountain

By Noemi Vola

 

Upon opening this story to the first page, readers are met with a sad sight. A pink worm, having just seen his empty swimming pool, stares out at the reader with doleful eyes and a big frown. The narrator admonishes the worm that starting out the book this way will only make people worry. How about a little smile? But this doesn’t help—in fact, the frown turns deeper and tears well in the bottom of the worm’s eyes. The narrator tries to stop the coming tears, but a suggestion to “try thinking of something happy” just causes a small tear to break free and then… a full-on flood. 

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Image copyright Noemi Vola, 2022, courtesy of Tundra Books.

Worried that the little worm might drown in its own tears, the narrator offers a couple of suggestions for staying afloat until the tears dry up. And they do begin to abate until the narrator tells the worm “there’s no use in crying,” which brings on—you guessed it. But wait! This isn’t a criticism. Instead it means to be a helpful (and hilarious) way to look at crying in a positive light. “For example, if you cry like a fountain, you’ll be surrounded by friends and make all the pigeons happy.” That’s a good thing, right?

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Image copyright Noemi Vola, 2022, courtesy of Tundra Books.

Let’s look at some other ways those tears could be channeled beneficially. If sadness overtakes you around mealtime, get out your biggest pot, “turn on the stove and cry until the pot is filled. When the tears start to boil, stir in the pasta. You won’t even need to add salt!” And why waste water to brush your teeth and fill the tub, when a good cry can prove advantageous here too?

Since tears can flow all year around, the narrator gives some tips on using them during the winter and when spring comes. There’s even a recipe for homemade playdough that can be done anytime and used “to make surprise presents for your friends.” Now that all is looking up, the narrator decides this might be a good time to remind readers that “everyone cries” even “…superheroes, kings, soccer players,… dogs, peas, and rocks” The worm doesn’t believe rocks cry, but then becomes apologetic when the narrator explains that rocks “are very good at hiding,” so no one has actually “ever seen a rock cry.”

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Image copyright Noemi Vola, 2022, courtesy of Tundra Books.

The narrator goes on to reassure will-be criers that tears are a “universal language,” understood everywhere in the…well…universe, and that shedding tears can eliminate an array of environmental disasters, such as exploding frogs and dried-up rivers. Our little worm friend is looking much happier now that all of this has been explained and there’s even tear-nurtured pears in the jar of jam it’s enjoying with caterpillar. But Oh no! The book—and the jam—are at an end, which are just the kinds of catastrophes that can… fill a swimming pool.

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Image copyright Noemi Vola, 2022, courtesy of Tundra Books.

Whether your household (or classroom) is made up of easy criers or those who are made of more stoic stuff, Noemi Vola’s hilarious, thoughtful, and wonderfully silly story will have everyone laughing while also appreciating the true benefits of not bottling up your emotions, but letting them flow. Vola’s seemingly random examples replicate the cadence of a well-told joke or the rapid-fire delivery of a child with an endless imagination.

Vola whimsically plays with shapes, textures, and perspective in her vibrant illustrations, where the characters’ large and copious tears flow in profuse but perfectly aimed streams to accomplish a myriad of tasks. Alert readers will recognize a few famous faces from literature and entertainment among the criers. The sensitive worm is an adorable companion on this journey of discovery, and readers will be glad to see that in the end happiness reigns supreme—at least until the next waterworks.

If you and your kids like your humor quirky, your characters unforgettable, and your themes thought-provoking, If You Cry like a Fountain should be at the top of your To Be Read List. Perfect for story times or discussions about emotions, the book would be an excellent addition to all home, classroom, and public library collections.

Ages 3 – 7

Tundra Books, 2022 | ISBN 978-0735270503

To learn more about Noemi Vola, her books, and her art, visit her website. 

National Book Lovers Day Activity

CPB - Bookworm Book (2)

Bookworm Bookmark

 

For all you bookworms out there who love to read, here’s your very own Bookworm Bookmark to color and put between the pages of your favorite story!

Supplies

Directions

  1. Print out the Bookworm Bookmark template
  2. Color the bookworm
  3. Cut out the Bookworm
  4. (Optional) Cut the Bookworm’s mouth at the dotted line. The top part of the bookworm’s mouth hangs over the page and marks your place!

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You can find If You Cry Like a Fountain at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

March 4 – It’s National Reading Month

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About the Holiday

National Reading Month is a book-lover’s delight! Designed to encourage children and adults to read every day, the holiday gives you the perfect excuse to hurry out to your local bookstore or library to stock up! The month is only beginning, so gather the kids and discover some new books to enjoy together. Today’s new book is a natural to start with. And when you’ve finished reading, visit the Reading is Fundamental website to join the celebration by adding the books you read to the tally of the Million Book March.

A Way with Wild Things

Written by Larissa Theule | Illustrated by Sara Palacios

 

Poppy Ann Fields made friends with lots of bugs. She appreciated all of their natural talents—the way the cicadas formed a symphony, the way the ants marched in perfect lines, the way the shy roly poly said hello, and the “magnificent art” the spider wove. She could spend all day outside among these friends, “but when people came around, Poppy preferred to disappear into the background.”

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Image copyright Sara Palacios, 2020, text copyright Larissa Theule, 2020. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

At parties she dressed to blend in with the wallpaper or the brightly flowered rug. She could disappear into the framed landscape on the wall or behind the tree in the corner. To celebrate Grandma Phyllis’s 100th birthday, there was a big party. Poppy watched from behind the flowers and bushes. She watched as people strolled about, meeting and hugging, dancing and running. “They looked like colorful leaves falling into each other then drifting apart.”

A shimmering dragonfly drifted on the breeze and landed on the cake. “Her whole heart glad, Poppy clapped her hands.” She came over to look and that’s when Uncle Dan spotted her. His voice boomed, “‘Poppy Ann Fields, you wallflower, you. So that’s where you’ve been hiding this time.’” Everyone turned to look at Poppy. She froze. The dragonfly took off… “and landed in her hand.” No one could believe it; they smiled and stared in wonder. Then they moved in to get a closer look.

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Image copyright Sara Palacios, 2020, text copyright Larissa Theule, 2020. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Poppy wished she could run away. She didn’t know where to look, so she gazed at the dragonfly. “She knew the dragonfly had come here for her.” She listened to the cicadas’ music wafting through the air and took a breath. Then she spoke, telling everyone the dragonfly’s scientific name. Grandma Phyllis clasped her hands and gave Poppy a hug. “‘You wildflower, you,’” she whispered. In her heart Poppy knew Grandma Phyllis was right. She was not a wallflower, but “a wildflower.”

An illustrated glossary of Poppy’s bug friends, along with their scientific name and a brief description follows the story.

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Image copyright Sara Palacios, 2020, text copyright Larissa Theule, 2020. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Larissa Theule’s quietly comforting story is balm for those thoughtful, introverted children who interact with the world through observation, contemplation, and gentle interactions. With the soul of a poet, Poppy listens to, watches, and connects with nature, feeling its rhythms and wonder with her whole heart. Theule’s carefully chosen verbs and play on the idea of nature embrace Poppy’s personality. Poppy “preferred” to observe large, noisy gatherings from the sidelines while she “became” things that most people find lovely: landscapes, trees, rain, a group of animals.

When Uncle Dan’s loud voice turns everyone’s attention to Poppy, Theule’s simply stated “she was scared down to her toes” validates the feelings of kids who’d rather not be in the spotlight and gives children and adults an opportunity to talk about these emotions. The party-goers’ enthusiasm to hear what Poppy has to say and Grandma Phyllis’s loving and apt nickname for her granddaughter will reassure introverted readers that they are seen and appreciated for their unique strengths.

Sara Palacios festival of flowers—found outside, in Poppy’s home décor, and on party-goers’ clothing––surrounds Poppy and reveals that she is a part of and does fit in everywhere. One of the joys of A Way with Wild Things is finding Poppy on each page and appreciating Palacio’s creative genius in how she uses camouflage similar to nature. Her vivid, textured illustrations are joyous and full of love for nature, for life, and especially for Poppy who tenderly takes it all in and makes it uniquely hers.

Ages 3 – 6

Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2020 | ISBN 978-1681190396

Discover more about Larissa Theule and her books on her website.

To learn more about Sara Palacios, her books, and her art, visit her website.

National Reading Month Activity

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Catch the Reading Bug Bookmark, Bookplate, and Books-to-Read List

 

If National Reading Month is one of your favorite holidays, show it with these printable Reading Bug book accessories!

I’ve Got the Reading Bug Bookmark | I’ve Got the Reading Bug Bookplate | Books-to-Read List 

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You can find A Way with Wild Things at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

Picture Book Review