February Nonfiction Picture Book Ten For Ten---Bees. Beetles. Bugs.

This represents the eighth year of the February Nonfiction Picture Book 10 for 10 #nf10for10.  This event continues through the efforts of Julie Balen (Twitter), an English teacher at Connecting to Learn, Cathy Mere (Twitter), a teacher leader, at Reflect & Refine: Building a Learning Community and Mandy Robek (Twitter), a second grade teacher, at Enjoy and Embrace Learning . I have previously participated featuring titles dinosaurs, individuals whose lives made a difference in human history, and birds.

On August 18, 2018 in the Picture Book August 10 for 10 #pb10for10 by subject was books featuring bees.  Since that date I have been looking for the best nonfiction titles about honeybees.  I have five here which I believe are excellent.  To round out the collection I chose five other notable insect books.




The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees:  A Scientific Mystery (Millbrook Press, August 1, 2013) by Sandra Markle

During this past spring and summer plants never having flowered before were covered in blossoms. Swarms of honeybees busily flew back and forth gathering nectar and pollen.  Sounds of their humming drifted on the air like the best kind of symphony.

Each year concern for the well-being of honeybees worldwide is ever increasing.  The front cover of Time magazine on August 19, 2013 featured an article titled A World Without Bees.  Our survival is closely entwined with their survival. Like the best kind of detective, Sandra Markle gathers clues, presenting readers with pertinent facts.

On a warm day in October 2006, Dave Hackenberg went to check on his workers.
Hackenberg is a beekeeper, and his workers are millions of honeybees.

What Hackenberg discovered was shocking.  Thousands of his bees were missing.  They had disappeared without a trace.

My full summary and recommendation for this title is here.


Bee: A Peek-Through Picture Book (Doubleday Books For Young Readers, January 31, 2017) written and illustrated by Britta Teckentrup

Page turn by page turn, die-cuts reveal layers as we follow a honeybee during one day.

Dawn is breaking on a brand-new day,
And in the meadow, poppies sway.

A bee appears, striped black and gold.
A wonder of nature is about to unfold.

A  complete description of the book is at the publisher's website.

At Brightly you can read about this title and the other titles in the Peek-Through Picture Book series.


Bees: A Honeyed History (Abrams Books for Young Readers, March 28, 2017) text by Wojciech Grajkowski, translation by Agnes Mened-Gayraud and illustrations by Piotr Socha

A through exploration of bees in information and images is presented here.  There is an abundance of details and humor in many of the illustrations.  This title has a large format, 10.5 by 14.5 trim size.  Every page turn, two pages are dedicated to a new topic.

HOW THE BEE CAME TO BE
Honey bees have existed for at least a hundred million years!  In other words, bees were already around when dinosaurs roamed Earth.  How can we be so sure?  It's all thanks to the discovery of a few flying insects fossilized in amber.  Some scientists believe that bees appeared even earlier, some 120 million years ago.  This was when plants were just beginning to develop their cleverest invention---the flower.

At the publisher's website you can read a thorough description of the book.  At Thames & Hudson you can view interior images.



They are rarely an inch long but can fly fifteen miles per hour.  Their wings are known to beat more than 200 times per second.  This is why we can hear them buzzing as they move from place to place.

We don't see them in the winter months as snow covers the ground, icy winds blow, and temperatures are chilly.  In fact, as soon as the temperatures fall below fifty degrees, bees return to the hive surrounding the queen.  With the movement of their wings they can heat their home and keep the queen warm.  They get their energy from the honey they've stored.

In her newest release, Beehive (A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, January 7, 2020), Jorey Hurley speaks to readers in the simplest of terms, single words, about the formation of a honeybee home and how its inhabitants flourish.

buzz

My full summary and recommendation for this title is here.


Sometimes the life of a single being is so glorious, it takes your breath away.  The more you know about the days of their life, the more your admiration and respect increases.  You realize every moment of the hours of their existence is orchestrated for a greater good.  It's about survival not only for them, but for every other living being.

As humans, the more we take notice of the value of these beings, the better able we are to protect and preserve their place in our natural world.  Upon the first reading (and every reading thereafter) of Honeybee: The Busy Life Of Apis Mellifera (Neal Porter Books, Holiday House, February 4, 2020) written by Candace Fleming with art by Eric Rohmann, readers find themselves immersed in the life of a valued member of the hive, a female worker bee.  We are there for every day of her life and we are humbled by her accomplishments.

One summer morning deep in the nest,

a brand-new honeybee
     squirms,
       pushes,
         chews
through the wax cap of her solitary cell and into . . .
a teeming, trembling flurry.
Hummmmm!

My full summary and recommendation for this title is here.


As I may have stated before, every single one of us who has found the right book for the right reader at the right time knows, without a doubt, that books change lives.  From our own personal experience we treasure those titles evoking a change in our perception, adjusting our levels of tolerance, and leading us to definitions of absolute truths.  Those books which offer us the chance to change are not always works of fiction.

When I hold a book written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins in my hands, I am certain of being enriched in ways I am not expecting.  That being said, nothing could have prepared me for the impact of reading his newest title, The Beetle Book (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, April 3, 2012).  Stunning visuals accentuated with astounding facts clearly place this volume in the category as one of the finest nonfiction books of 2012.

Line up every kind of plant and animal
on Earth . . .

. . . and one of every four will be a beetle.

My full summary and recommendation for this title is here.


Early this morning a flash of movement had me looking up and glancing out the picture window.  I saw her flying around as if trying to get my attention.  Was the lady trying to send me a message?  Light glowed through her tiny transparent wings. Before I could get close to her, she was gone.

The lilacs have blossomed and faded, the peonies are ready to burst forth in all their sweet-smelling glory and the lily shoots are about three inches tall.  Regardless of all this floral fanfare, she was the first ladybug of the spring to present herself to me.  In A Beetle Is Shy (Chronicle Books, April 5, 2016) the newest collaboration between author Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrator Sylvia Long, the Convergent Lady Beetle is one of twenty-eight featured insects.

A beetle is shy.
It begins its life inside an egg...
soft and wingless, tender,
protected by the roots of trees
and the undersides of leaves.

My full summary and recommendation for this title is here.


With the advent of lots of rain and the warm temperatures, summer is in full bloom in northern Michigan.  There is an abundance of critters of all shapes and sizes and flowers, shrubs and trees in the wild.  Gardeners are giddy with their flourishing vegetables, annuals and perennials.  The air is literally humming with the sounds of life, buzzing honeybees, chirping crickets, melodious birdsong and the unmistakable huffs of startled rabbits and deer.

The more we know about those creatures sharing this planet with us, the better we can protect and respect them.  Author illustrator Owen Davey released two new titles in his popular series about animals, Bonkers About Beetles (Flying Eye Books, May 1, 2018 UK and Nobrow, June 5, 2018 US) (National Science Teachers Association, 2019 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12) and Fanatical About Frogs (Flying Eye Books, March 1, 2019 UK and Nobrow, June 18, 2019 US).  Both books are entertaining and informative with stunning images.

WHAT ARE BEETLES?
Beetles are a group of insects.  They have six
legs, three body segments and two feelers sticking
out of their heads.  Beetles are different from
most other insects in that their forewings form
a hard or leathery protective case over their backs.

My full summary and recommendation for this title is here.


With the return of warmer weather joining the chorus of birdsong is the buzzing, humming and chirping of insects.  Creeping, crawling, jumping and flying through our world, integral to the completed whole, their place is assured whether deemed friend or foe.  Grateful we are then for the assistance provided by the small flash of red seen moving among our plants.

With more than 170 nonfiction books to her credit author/illustrator, Gail Gibbons, has most recently turned her attention to the world of Ladybugs (Holiday House, February 1, 2012).  Her never ending quest for answers to questions, her thirst for knowledge, educates readers about this popular bug.  No insect has claimed such appeal on clothing, jewelry, shoes, fabric, as a food decoration, costume design or even as fingernail decorations as have ladybugs.

A flower gently sways in the breeze.  A small bug is looking for food.  It's a ladybug.

My full summary and recommendation for this title is here.


The universe has a gift sometimes for bringing humor into a situation.  It's not every day you walk into your kitchen to run water into the sink and have the children's tune The Ants Go Marching One By One pop into your head.  This is exactly what happened yesterday and again this morning.  It seems lack of rain was bringing the wee critters into my home.  I politely asked them to leave.  Mother Nature replied to my request by providing a rain shower which ended the situation entirely.

Our planet is swarming with insects and invertebrates that make their homes inside and outside our residences.  For the most part sharing space with them is acceptable unless they create dangerous conditions for us.  The Big Book of Bugs (Thames & Hudson, April 18, 2016) written and illustrated by London-based author illustrator Yuval Zommer is brimming with facts and fun about insects and invertebrates.

Can you find...
...exactly the same fly 15 times in 
this book?  Watch out for imposters.

With these books my admiration grew for these smaller beings inhabiting our planet.  Their place is our world is vital.  It is my hope, you too, will see their worth.  I wish you all happy reading.

Abundantly Astonishing

With the advent of lots of rain and the warm temperatures, summer is in full bloom in northern Michigan.  There is an abundance of critters of all shapes and sizes and flowers, shrubs and trees in the wild.  Gardeners are giddy with their flourishing vegetables, annuals and perennials.  The air is literally humming with the sounds of life, buzzing honeybees, chirping crickets, melodious birdsong and the unmistakable huffs of startled rabbits and deer.

The more we know about those creatures sharing this planet with us, the better we can protect and respect them.  Author illustrator Owen Davey released two new titles in his popular series about animals, Bonkers About Beetles (Flying Eye Books, May 1, 2018 UK and Nobrow, June 5, 2018 US) (National Science Teachers Association, 2019 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12) and Fanatical About Frogs (Flying Eye Books, March 1, 2019 UK and Nobrow, June 18, 2019 US).  Both books are entertaining and informative with stunning images.

WHAT ARE BEETLES?
Beetles are a group of insects.  They have six
legs, three body segments and two feelers sticking
out of their heads.  Beetles are different from
most other insects in that their forewings form
a hard or leathery protective case over their backs.

With the exception of Antarctica, beetles reside on every continent, living on land and in the water.  Of these beetles some are predators, others are herbivores, and some enjoy both animals and plants.  There is another category of beetles known to feast on animals and plants that are dead.

Did you know beetles don't have lungs?  They breathe through spiracles.  Most beetles have a pronotum, antennae, elytra, horns, legs, eyes, rostrum, flight wings, mandibles and a mouth.  The elytra are a sturdier wing giving protection to the flight wings.  (The three body segments are labeled with these ten parts noted in those three sections by a number.)

The changes from egg to adult in a beetle can take as long as fifty years.  Where do you think the dung beetle lays a single egg?  Fireflies are featured for their use of light.  Depending on the specie they have a variety of flash and flight patterns.  This light attracts and acts as a warning.

There are beetles who point their heads to the ground with their bottoms up so water runs into their mouths before the heat of the desert glows hot and dry.  Beetles mimic color of other animals to protect themselves and to infiltrate other insects' colonies to feed on them.  They blend in their surroundings for survival, pretend to be dead, make loud noises, sting, stink and carry weaponry on their bodies.

In a feature on seven-spot ladybugs we discover they are loved in part for their appetite of aphids.  Their black and red coloring shouts to predators, I am toxic. Of the more than

6,000 described species of ladybugs around the world

one has the letter M on its pronotum.

The male Harlequin beetle has legs longer than its body giving him warrior status when necessary.  There is a beetle as big as an adult hand and one smaller than the punctuation period.  To help the hundreds of beetle species under threat you might consider building a bug hotel.  (A colorful and captioned diagram acts as a guide.)


WHAT ARE FROGS?
Frogs are amphibians, which are animals that usually switch between living in water and living on land during different stages of their life cycle.  Frogs have short bodies, no tails and their back legs are typically longer than their front legs, usually with some webbing between their toes.

Did you know that all toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads?  Just like beetles, frogs inhabit each continent with the exception of Antarctica.  Frogs have tympanum (a covering over their eardrum), nictitating membrane (a protective inner eyelid), eyes, warts (some), feet, adhesive pads (some), legs and tubercle (some).

There is a frog with no lungs, breathing through its skin.  There is a frog after shedding its skin, consumes it.  There is a frog capable of creating a type of sunscreen and applying it everywhere.

Frogs' tongues are amazing!  They roll toward the back of their throat until they're needed.  The spit on their tongues changes textures before and during use to ensnare their food.  Like other animals the coloring of frogs can save their lives and hide them or shout about their poisonous nature.  If their hues are a warning, they are called aposematic.

Starry night reed frogs change their entire color.  They are white during the day and black during the night hours.  To beat the heat the Main's frog fashions

a waterproof cocoon around their bodies

and stays underground.

The sounds of frogs are as varied as the species.  Some are beyond the ability of humans to hear them.  An American bull frog can sound like a cow or scream like a human.  You won't believe why frogs are commonly said to make the ribbit sound.  Most frogs begin as eggs, then tadpoles, froglets and then are adults.  Where the eggs are placed depends on the frogs.  Some of these spots are impressive.

A featured frog is the bright red-eyed treefrog who enjoys the nighttime best.  To stay safe during the day, they shape themselves to hide all their vivid shades.

Male red-eyed treefrogs shake their butts to win an argument.  (Who knew?)

Going from smooth to spiky is a trait of the Mutable Rainfrog.  Can you imagine walking along in central Africa and coming across a foot-long Goliath Frog?  One of the smallest frogs was only discovered nineteen years ago.  (It's about as big as my pinkie fingernail.)  There are frogs that cover thirteen feet in one jump.  Frogs like beetles need our help.  We need to observe them, but let them leave (and live) without our interference.


In both books Owen Davey begins with a table of contents highlighting an up-close-and-personal visual of a subject in his title.  He invites readers by defining what their physical characteristics are and showcasing their favorite foods; some of which are surprising.  Two pages are dedicated to detailed portraits carefully labeled.  Sections are included focusing on birth to adulthood.  Certain species are given features.  Each book includes chapters titled:

Weird and Wonderful
Little and Large
To Scale
And the Award Goes to . . .
__________Mythology
Conservation and an
Index.

Owen Davey writes to engage people's curiosity.  He piques our interest with unique facts and maintains this relationship with readers throughout the books using conversational and clever word choice as he informs us in his phrases, sentences and paragraphs.  You will also find humor.  Here are two passages, one from each book.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO . . .
The award for the strongest beetle
goes to the horned dung beetle.
This brawny beetle can pull 1,141
times its own body weight.  For a 
human, that would mean the ability
to drag an entire airplane filled 
with vacationers and their
luggage.  These beetles use their
immense strength to drive rivals
away from females.

The award for the loudest frog goes to the
Puerto Rican common coqui frog.  Males
call through the night with a noise as loud
as a lawn mower.  Their call has two distinct
tones that give the frog its name---"co" and
"kee."  The first tone drives away rival males
and the second tone is for enticing females.


One of the first things readers notice about the book cases of these books is their distinctive color palettes, the design and layout of the elements on the front, the texture of cloth (paper) on the book cases and the embossed titles.  The back of the books serves as end flaps on a dust jacket.  They challenge readers to continue with intriguing facts.  Smaller images but still graphically enchanting are centered between the text.

The matching opening and closing endpapers showcase a variety of shapes and sizes of each species.  Each page turn reveals a striking array of illustrations.  Owen Davey varies his sizes and the elements in each picture.  Some span two pages in a horizontal column.  Others move from left to right over the gutter to create a vertical column for a group of smaller visuals. Double-page pictures offer dramatic depictions.

His artwork shows every exquisite detail.  In a separate circle we might move in very close to see how the two sets of jaws on a beetle work. We are enchanted with the four flash and flight patterns of fireflies moving over a darkened landscape in purple hues and black.  We seek the rave beetle carefully hidden among the ants.  We marvel at the eye of the red-eyed treefrog and its nictitating membrane.  The two rows of poison dart frogs are deadly but beautiful.  It's hard not to gasp at the life-size picture of the Goliath frog.

Two of my favorite illustrations, one in each book, have to do with camouflage.  On a full-page picture we are asked to locate the longhorn beetle on a tree.  Shades of brown, green and black create a breathtaking view of the wonders of nature.  Four frogs in four horizontal panels depict how they can blend with a leaf, moss or mimic bird poop.


As he did in his first titles, Mad About Monkeys, Smart About Sharks and Crazy About Cats, Owen Davey has written and illustrated two stellar titles, Bonkers About Beetles and Fanatical About Frogs.  These books (this series) is the finest in nonfiction reaching readers in a range of ages.  I highly recommend both for your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Owen Davey and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  At his website you can view multiple images from each book by selecting the appropriate illustration.  Owen Davey maintains accounts on Instagram and Twitter. For Bonkers About Beetles you can view images at Penguin Random House and Nobrow.  For Fanatical About Frogs you can view images at Penguin Random House and Nobrow.  You can read a little bit about Owen Davey's process at Flying Eye Books.  He is interviewed at Digital Arts.  Enjoy the videos.

Bonkers About Beetles - Owen Davey from Modik on Vimeo.


Fanatical About Frogs teaser - Flying Eye Books from Persistent Peril on Vimeo.


Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the other titles selected this week by participants in the 2019 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Bugged

Early this morning a flash of movement had me looking up and glancing out the picture window.  I saw her flying around as if trying to get my attention.  Was the lady trying to send me a message?  Light glowed through her tiny transparent wings. Before I could get close to her, she was gone.

The lilacs have blossomed and faded, the peonies are ready to burst forth in all their sweet-smelling glory and the lily shoots are about three inches tall.  Regardless of all this floral fanfare, she was the first ladybug of the spring to present herself to me.  In A Beetle Is Shy (Chronicle Books, April 5, 2016) the newest collaboration between author Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrator Sylvia Long, the Convergent Lady Beetle is one of twenty-eight featured insects.

A beetle is shy.
It begins its life inside an egg...
soft and wingless, tender,
protected by the roots of trees
and the undersides of leaves.

From this quiet beginning the egg changes into a larva four different times, each one larger.  It progresses to the pupa and then to the beautiful beetle.  The variety of color found in beetles likens them to a kaleidoscope if they were gathered together.

If you are exploring in one of several South American locations, you might encounter a beetle as large as your hand. *gulp* Coming up to North America you would need assistance to see one of the smallest known beetles.  It's only three one hundredths of an inch in size.

Beetles are specially equipped to travel, perform their jobs and search for food.  Their legs and toes are designed for a certain purpose; flattened or long and slender or ready for springing up in a leap.  Communication methods rely on smell, sound and light.

To protect themselves beetles can blend in with their surroundings, shoot out harmful substances, and pretend to be something they are not.  They are known to assist in making plants healthier or causing them irreparable damage.

Beetles shared the planet with dinosaurs and have wings acting as shields for their inner flight wings and abdomens.  They are survivors.  They remind us to be thankful for the exquisite creatures sharing this planet with us.


In this title, as in the five previous books, Dianna Hutts Aston showcases a series of statements about beetles.  Some are fairly simple,

A beetle is kaleidoscopic.

Others are a little more complex,

A beetle is helpful...
or harmful.

Following each observation are one or more paragraphs in support of her initial sentence.  In this way we are informed but enveloped in her poetic writing style.  Here is another sample passage, one of eleven with one additional paragraph.

A beetle is telegraphic.
... Fireflies communicate by bioluminescence,
or glowing lights.  They flash their signals
to attract a mate, defend their territory,
and warn away predators.


In this title the watercolor illustrations by Sylvia Long are stunning in their delicacy and detail.  Her bugs are beautiful!  The "wheel" of beetles on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case crosses the spine and a similar form, a partial arc of insects, appears on the back from the center to the upper left-hand corner.  The crisp white background here welcomes our attention to the array of colors to be found on beetles. The opening and closing endpapers are a pattern taken from the outer wings of a beetle; a pale orange with irregular-shaped brown spots.

With a page turn all twenty-eight beetles featured here are pictured on two pages.  At the close of the book, the illustration is identical except each insect is named.  An extreme close-up of two beetles frames the bottom and top of the verso and title pages respectively.  It's a very clever use of their antennae.

Alternating between two-page larger images and single page pictures bordered in white paired with shifting perspectives, Long elevates the text and our appreciation for beetles.  At times an element in her pictures will extend beyond the boundary of the frame.  Each illustration is uniquely different but together they create a splendid portfolio.  Careful readers will notice Long starts and ends the title with the passage of time not only for the beetle but the plant on which it is placed.

One of my favorite pictures is of three Water-gliding Rove Beetles.  We are given a close-up view of them as if we are looking down on the water.  Their movement is shown with shaded hues of blue-green extending from their legs.  A portion of shoreline and overhanging leaves gives us a sense of their size.


Regardless of whether you are a bug-lover or not, A Beetle Is Shy written by Dianna Hutts Aston with illustrations by Sylvia Long is to be valued for the information, writing and exquisite illustrations.  It's a must have for your personal and professional shelves.  You might want to pair it with The Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins.

You will want to follow the links attached to Dianna Hutts Aston's and Sylvia Long's names to access their websites.  When we know more about an author or an illustrator and their other work our admiration grows.


Please be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by Alyson Beecher to read about the titles selected by bloggers participating in the 2016 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge this week.