On The Move

The sky is a startling blue.  The sun is blinding-bright against the snow.  The temperature is in the low forties with a wind chill ten degrees higher than most of our temperatures the past several months.  When stepping outside a change is felt.  It is the whisper of spring.  

With spring, the smallest beings come awake.  They creep, crawl, hop, climb, and fly.  Sometimes, they find their way into our homes.  Sometimes, they interrupt our enjoyment outside.  And sometimes, they munch on our annuals, perennials, and vegetables.  Regardless, we are aware of their incredible abilities and value to our ecosystems.  Hustle Bustle Bugs (Little, Brown And Company, February 22, 2022) written by Catherine Bailey with pictures by Lauren Eldridge is an exploration and tribute to these creatures who share our world.

Secret cities buzz and bustle

with itty-bitty hard-work hustle.

If we really want to view what insects do, we need to look at them on their level.  We cannot be afraid to get low and close.  We can see carpenter ants chewing through wood no longer needed.  

Working in our gardens, ladybugs rid them of unwanted pests.  Grasshoppers work to keep growth under control.  Do you see termites guarding their nests from unwanted invaders?

Whether bugs are members of a team or individuals acting on their own, the results benefit the entire community.  Bees buzz together. Butterflies glide alone as do spiders weaving webs. 

Dusk and dark reveal other busy bugs.  Fireflies flash to signal an alarm.  Crickets create a symphony hoping to attract a mate.  No matter the weather or the time of day, insects are on the move.

In single (or two) sentences, two parts of a whole beckon readers with an inviting, upbeat rhyme written by Catherine Bailey.  Each of these factual sentences introduce readers to the value of each insect given focus.  These are then compared in separate sections on the same page to the actions of humans contributing to the success of our communities.  These analogies are a wonderful method of promoting understanding.  Here are two passages.

Ladybugs on patrol.

Polka-dot pest control.

Like police officers protecting

a neighborhood, ladybugs

protect flower and vegetable

gardens from aphids and other

tiny pests.

The open and matching dust jacket and book case clearly are a reflection of the title and contents of the book.  All of the featured creatures are about their daily activities.  The technique used as a placeholder for the author and illustrator names is employed for displaying the comparisons of the insect community to the human community within the interior of the title.  The scene on the front, right, continues across the spine to the left.  

On the back, the left, in the background are two little girls.  They are the explorers of the insect world seen in the illustrations.  Between them, they are carrying a notebook, a camera, and a magnifying glass.

Several plank boards, either a table, steps, or porch, provide the background on the opening and closing endpapers.  On the first set, we see on the left, insect identification cards, pine cones, caterpillars in a box of leaves, a magnifying glass, and a camera.  To the right are colored pencils and a notebook embossed with insect bodies.  On the second set, it is darker.  The notebook is on the left with pages torn and tattered sticking out from the covers.  The magnifying glass is on the right along with a roll of tape (used for securing the text), a moth, the insect identifying cards, the camera, and several picture slides of insects.

The title page is a double page picture.  It's a bug's eye view of earth along the bottom for the text.  Above that is grass alive with insects in action.  The two little girls are leaving their home for a day of discovery.

The remaining two-page images by artist Lauren Eldridge are spectacular, exhilarating settings.  They are replete with details; most of them as if we are within the images with the insects.  Lauren Eldridge painstakingly fashioned the insects and their environments by hand, using as much "found" materials as possible.  She photographed individual elements using

a Nikon D7200 with a 35mm lens, and the images were composited digitally.

One of my many favorite two-page pictures is at night.  On the left the two little girls are walking among the grass, daisies, and coneflowers.  One of them is pointing to the right.  Above the rhyming text on the left, a firefly glows.  On the right, a firefly is shown enlarged and close to use.  In the lower, right-hand corner another firefly glows.  To the left of that insect, the comparison text from a torn page is taped to the scene.

One word comes to mind after reading Hustle Bustle Bugs written by Catherine Bailey with pictures by Lauren Eldridge.  That word is AMAZING!  At the close of the book are two pages of further information, Fun Buggy Facts and Want to know more insider insect information? Check out these bug-tastic tidbits . . . To the left of the dedications and publication information is a wonderful explanatory A Note from the Artist.  Your personal and professional collections won't be complete without this title.

To learn more about Catherine Bailey and Lauren Eldridge, please follow the link attached to their names to access their websites.  Catherin Bailey has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Lauren Eldridge has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  This book is showcased with creator interviews at librarian, lecturer at Rutgers, and writer John Schumacher's Watch. Connect. Read. Please take a few moments to read the fascinating post at author Anitra Rowe Schulte's site about Lauren Eldridge's work, especially on this title. 

UPDATE:  This title is featured at Picture Book Builders on August 5, 2022.

Ferocious, Forceful, Fantastic Bugs

In nine days, the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, will be marked on calendars in the northern hemisphere.  We've had more than six inches of snow blanket the ground in the last 48 hours with more currently falling.  Below normal temperatures for several days this week and high winds formed sizable drifts.  At night animals are on the move as evidenced by their tracks and trails left in the snow, but there is a huge population of critters not visible this time of year.

Some of them are downright pesky and not missed at all, even though we know they are essential in the chain of life.  Others as evidenced by Insect Superpowers: 18 real bugs that smash, zap, hypnotize, sting, and devour! (Chronicle Books, November 5, 2019) written by Kate Messner with illustrations by Jillian Nickell are not only vital but display capabilities similar to champions of comics.  Their skills are astounding.

AN INSECT FAMILY TREE
All living organisms are identified using a system called biological classification, where they're organized based on common characteristics.  This organization starts big---by asking questions like, "Is it a plant, animal, or something else?"---and it gets more specific as it goes along.

Each category,

domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species

are explained in their most basic form and one insect, the Monarch Butterfly is used as an example, citing all eight classifications.  After these four pages, the superpower descriptors are divided into chapter headings,

Fast & Fierce
Great Imposters
Big & Tough
Masters of Chemical Weaponry
Engineers & Architects and
Amazing Ants.

Within these chapters each featured insect is given a superpower name based upon their performances.

You would think with a name like robber fly this insect is some kind of super sleuth but it's a speed demon when in flight.  If you are its unfortunate prey, you are doomed to become a liquid form of food.  Did you know the six-spotted tiger beetle can move faster than five miles per hour?  There is a bug clever enough to mimic an orchid and lure in unsuspecting food.  Its powerful jaws allow it to feast on other insects three times its size.  If you think the only reason fireflies, especially the females, flash their light is to find a mate, you'll be shocked by the behavior of one species.  If you are a male Photinus ignitus, take flight and avoid the light.

There is a grasshopper, Little Barrier Island giant weta, residing in New Zealand.  As the

heaviest insect in the world 

it tips the scale at 35 grams or .077 pounds.  That's one big bug!  It scares rats away by lifting its wicked-looking hind legs.  The black and white shell of the Texas Ironclad beetle is so hard a drill is sometimes necessary to pierce its shell when scientists are studying a deceased bug.  And you won't believe what someone did to the shell of one of these living beetles.  Can you imagine a bug that can shoot a toxic mixture out its rear at five hundred to one thousand bursts per second?  Beware the African bombardier beetle.  If you were a specific termite living in Australia your face is your best weapon, shooting out a gooey glue to immobilize attacking ants.

There is a bug that builds holes in sand to trap food, one that farms fungus and another that confuses its predator by emitting its own sonar sound.  Many of us are aware ant bites can be itchy and achy but one ant, the Bullet ant, has an extremely painful sting.  The final noted insect, Siafu ant, has terrifying jaws.  They travel in troops of millions . . . yes, millions.  Nothing is safe in their path.  The talents of these insects are terrifying, especially to other insects and wild and domestic creatures, but you can't, nonetheless, resist being astonished and give them their due respect.


Through her careful research, author Kate Messner presents facts in multiple ways to appeal to a variety of readers.  For each insect we learn their:

common name,
aliases,
super-scientific name,
trademark features,
size (metric),
secret hideout, 
superpower,
favorite food,
allies and
archenemy.

By selecting these words, she is keeping to the superhero theme.  In other text boxes each insect's characteristics and defining actions are portrayed.  Sometimes a probable scenario is showcased with step-by-step action.  Captivating anecdotes provide unforgettable information.  Here are some passages.

THE DECAPITATOR
A raiding gang
of Asian giant
hornets have been
known to wipe out
a nest of tens
of thousands of 
honeybees in a 
couple of hours. 

The hornets use their powerful mandibles to tear
the bees apart, often ripping off heads, legs, and 
wings.  Then the hornets carry the bees' larvae
back to the nest, chew them into balls, and feed
them to the hornet larvae.


The front and back of the open book case has huge reader appeal.  The layout and design are an introduction to the comic book, graphic novel, use of panels.  The image on the front is a display of six of the eighteen insects.  To the left, on the back, the Asian giant hornet is showcased within several text boxes along with striking images.  Information about Kate Messner and Jillian Nickell, which would normally appear on the back dust jacket flap, is shown here.

On the left front and back right of the end papers are superpower rays shooting out from the gutter in yellow and green hues.  The pages opposite these are first, the title page and second, at the end, the publication information.  These, in the front, are followed by two pages dedicated to the Contents.  

Rendered in ink and copic marker the full-color illustrations by Jillian Nickell are vibrant and bold.  Panels for text are placed within, above and below illustrative panels.  Geometrically shaped panels house insects which look as though they are going to burst off the pages.

We are brought close to the action.  Sound effect words are large and highly expressive.  Small ribbons further emphasize superpowers with appropriate visuals as well as the insect's archenemy.  So well-portrayed are these insects, it's hard to believe they are not real superheroes, but readers will find themselves grateful they are not the size of humans.

One of my many favorite illustrations is the first page for the Hercules beetle.  Its superhero name is THE WEIGHT LIFTER.  Two text boxes in yellow present seven short facts.  Between these the beetle rises looking like a giant.  Blue and white rays spread out from the center in the background.  The enlarged beetle, which can be seven inches long (180mm), is standing tall and holding a large barbell in its mandibles.


Whether a reader is a fan of bugs or not, this book, Insect Superpowers: 18 real bugs that smash, zap, hypnotize, sting, and devour! written by Kate Messner with illustrations by Jillian Nickell, will keep them reading, probably in a single sitting.  At the close of the book, a question,

Could super insects take over the world someday?

leads to a discussion by the author.  This is followed by a list of books and websites.  These bugs are a part of our world.  The more we know about them, the easier it is to understand their purpose.  This book is a wonderful resource for your personal and professional collections.  It's easy to see this book as a read aloud in a classroom setting or a book group or as a part of an insect unit.

To learn more about Kate Messner and Jillian Nickell and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Kate Messner has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Jillian Nickell has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.


Please take a few moments to view the titles selected this week by other participants in the 2019 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge by visiting Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher.