Insects Books

Great reference, and the only of its kind. Sadly it is out of print though still readily available for an elevated price moast of the time. The only "substitute" is Dr. Hogue's other California Insects book for the whole state. If you see either cheap buy it and donate it to your local High School Biology teacher!

If you want to know more than just the names and habitat of Southern California insects, then this is the book for you. If the insect is non-native, what is its origin and when was it introduced? If it stings or bites, what does it feel like and does the toxin affect the nerves like a black widow or just dissolve the local tissue like a brown recluse? Do they jump or dart? Why is it always showing up in a certain room or part of the yard? "Insects of the Los Angeles Basin" will answer these questions. Read this book and become the lone rational mind in a roomful of hysterical screaming humans recoiling from the sight of one of these magnificent little creatures.

A magnificent book. Hogue details all of the more important insect species, and some the of the lesser known, as well. Did you know that L.A. is home to 3 species of fireflies? There are numerous photos, black and white, and color, along with several line drawings.

There are pictures of every insect (and spider) featured, and this makes it very useful in identifying the critters in the yard.

My wife knew I wanted this book as a reference guide to the insects in our house and yard, so she surprised me with it on our anniversary. It made a wonderful gift! When I'd seen it at the bookstore, I hadn't had time to do anything but skim the pages, and so I was pleasantly surprised to find it's actually a readable book. I never thought I'd read a book on insects cover to cover, but this one I finished in a few days (even the chapter on Ticks and Mites).

Most reference books -- you know, the North American Guide to Seashells or whatever -- are dense and hard to use, with keys and indices and all the pictures collected onto the fewest number of pages possible, to save printing costs. But this book has pictures or drawings of every insect listed, right next to its listing. And while it doesn't cover every insect of the LA basin -- no book could -- I've yet to find one that isn't in this book.

But what really sets this book apart is the writing. Charles Hogue was the entomology curator at the LA Natural History Museum until his death in 1992. Surely, he had hundreds or thousands of people bring in pictures or specimens, asking, What is this? And he's written a book for that type of people, those who would never study entomology, but would notice and wonder at some unusual bug.

As you wend your way through the chapters, Hogue anticipates what you might find interesting, what you might ask, and he's right there with some details or answers. He'll mention how Belkin's Chigger played a role in a murder investigation in Ventura County, or recount how Black Witch moth (with a wingspan of 6 to 7 inches) was common around the Coliseum during the 84 Olympics, even though you won't find its caterpillars in the basin.

It's fun reading about dragonflies and whatnot. It's fun learning that the daddy longlegs in your cupboard isn't a daddy longlegs at all, it's a cobweb spider. It's not so much fun reading about earwigs. But telling your friends that earwigs can fly, and that the tubular lawn furniture on their patio might be housing large populations of them? That's great fun.

After reading this book, I knew I had to get on Amazon and give it a five star review. How nice that so many other people beat me to it!

This book was written for general audience appeal and is approachable by all backgrounds and ages. In the first 11 chapters, Evans introduces readers to detailed explanations of many insect species with wit, humor and anecdotal information. Detailed line drawings give one a good view of insects that would normally require magnification to be seen in detail. Evans points out that even those bugs that are microscopic in size have very sophisticated attributes and can manage their affairs with very efficient capabilities.

The sad confrontations of bugs and uninformed humans is well covered, but Evans, while demonstrating a profound knowledge and admiration for just about all bugs and life itself, takes, in my opinion, a rather unfair poke at Rachel Carson's famous book, "Silent Spring". He comes off sounding like those in the pesticide industry or those who relied on their funding of research grants who attempted to debunk Carson's important work as "alarmist" and over-done. As we now know, Carson's work was proven correct and alarming and set the stage for an invigorated environmental movement world-wide.

Evans points out that "They [insects] are not only marvelous creatures in their own right; they may also teach us something about population control and the proper use of the Earth's resources."-pg 47. And, "As the anthroposphere [human saturated world] continues to encroach upon the biosphere, the museums will more and more assume the role of guardians of the world's treasures."-pg 285.

So this seems somewhat contradictory to his comments on pesticide use, but in all fairness, he also sees the wanton and reckless misuse of pesticides as very harmful to life.

The last two chapters give a very studied view of the collision-course that humanity is on with Earth's life support systems and in the end, it might be proven that those "pesky" bugs are far superior to humans in managing survival on a fragile and "Little-Known Planet"- Evans' call to expedite our research of the many awesome, yet unstudied life-forms that inhabit this planet before we inadvertently eradicate them with our paved-over human world.

For understanding and empathy for the insect world and the vitally important services that insect's provide, this book and Joanne Elizabeth Lauck's book, "The Voice of the Infinite In The Small: Re-Visioning the Insect-Human Connection" is highly recommended.

I can find no other way to begin this review than to say that this book was amazing. A good read to be had by all. And when I say all I really mean it. Biology and non-biology alike will find something to gain from t his book. The author of this book, Howard Ensign Adams, has the ability to teach the non-biologist but the talent of enticing the biology undergraduate. His ability to merge these two extremes while keeping both groups content is amazing and in a lot of ways impossible yet he has managed to do it. Each chapter is another adventure in insect know-how with tidbits of information, interesting anecdotes, and, in many chapters, a general call for more research into the specific fields discussed.

This book is organized into thirteen amazingly interesting chapters. Each chapter touches on a particular subfield of the insect world with the exception of the first and last chapters. The first chapter discusses the author's reasons for writing the book as well as his personal sales pitch on the content of the book and its intentions. The reader must be aware that this book is not recently written but was published in 1966. This is made evident in the first chapter with his discussion of the space program and its future plans to put man on the moon. It's almost comical to read his discussion of this, a feat that seems like old news to anyone nowadays but to him is only a future possibility. It can be said, however, that the age of this book is not a handicap. Aside from the obvious limited technology present in his time, the science presented does not suffer. The observations and data that Evans presents and discusses are very sound in their scientific method and in their accuracy as far as I can tell from my limited exposure to the field.

The book is fairly easy to read and most biological terminology is explained. Pictures accompany most in-depth explanations and the captions are short and usually humorous in content. The book is both accessible to those of the non-science community in terms of its skill level and in terms of its lack of necessity for prior biology knowledge. The book is also effective in its intentions of making the reader aware of the world beneath our feet and within our homes. Interesting aspects of each topic are discussed in order to keep the attention of the reader and to provide enjoyment in what might be perceived by some to be a very boring topic.

There is an obvious bias present in the author's focus on insects and the beauty he finds within their appearances and habitats. However, he does make a point to provide a disclaimer in the introducing chapter in which he makes the reader aware of his past experiences and his current work in entomology, specifically wasps. Throughout the first chapter he emphasizes that although many might not find the field as interesting and as beautiful as he, it will benefit most to learn of the things he is about to put forth. He does ask for continued research in the field and attempts to downplay the importance of the space program by referring to society's need to explain the depths of the universe while forgetting what is not known about the world within our reach.

Each subject is explored to the furthest ability of the author. Where he is not knowledgeable he brings in outside data from other scientists in the field and uses anecdotal information to highlight the interesting aspects of entomological research. He also uses these instances to give evidence to his assertions by providing sound evidence of the research in the field of interest. For example, in his bedbug chapter, humorously titled "Bedbugs, Cone-nosed Bugs, and Other Cuddly Animals", Evans discusses the research of Sir Vincent Wigglesworth on the Rhodnius prolixus, Rhodnius bug for short. Evans also provides detailed drawings of Wigglesworth experiments and discusses their results in depth. This is the rule throughout his book when discussing anything scientific.

I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone that can handle a bit of biological vocabulary and enjoys a good comedy. Howard Evans' style is witty yet informative. He puts forth the facts while adding incentive to read them. His prior work on wasps sneaks through every now and then and often he alludes to past selections or future topics that he has yet to delight you with. Overall his organization is clear and eloquent with each topic building on knowledge from the last. It is also noted on the cover that the author is also the writer of another entomological book called "Wasp Farm". I can say for myself that I have already made plans to stop by the library at some point this week to pick up this book to continue reading what I hope to be another great work by this amazing author. Even as I write this review I am making a mental list of friends and colleagues that I plan on recommending this book to, academic and non-academic alike.

Man will go to great lengths and spend great sums of money and time on the search for life in outer space, but will not look at the magnificent life forms under his feet, those largely unknown creatures that still hold many secrets worth studying. That is the recurring theme of this book, first published in 1968, when the race to the moon was in full swing. Here, Evans, who was considered a leading authority on wasps, ventures into the worlds of various insects with which he seems intimately familiar, demonstrating along the way the significance of these often overlooked animals and the virtues of studying them.
The book is divided into thirteen chapters, most focusing on a single group of insects-springtails, dragonflies, butterflies, fireflies, crickets, flies, cockroaches, bedbugs, locust and wasps-most of them familiar to any reader. But each chapter goes much deeper into the intricacies of every one of those familiar insects than most people ever think about. Every chapter makes you want to go outside and observe those fascinating creatures and the behaviors Evans so knowingly describes. While repeatedly pointing out that very little is known about the biology and behavior of most species of insects (in fact he speaks of our "depth of ignorance" of this group), he proceeds to go into great detail into the mating habits, courtship, feeding, and other behaviors of select species in every group discussed, giving various examples of typical and atypical behavior. In the course of his vivid descriptions, Evans touches on many important aspects of insect biology, and biological concepts in general, from anatomy and physiology to evolution, sexual selection, endocrinology and more.
In his 83 years (he died in 2002), Evans had published numerous papers and books of both technical and popular nature. Along with "Wasp Farm", this is one of the most familiar of his popular books. It can serve as a good introduction for those already fascinated with insects, or convert those who weren't. After reading this book, you won't look at your backyard or the local park the same way. You'll be able to look at dragonflies and recognize a mating flight, scream at a cloud of midges and see them respond to sound, and look carefully at piles of snow for swarms of tiny, fascinating springtails. This book is suitable for anyone who is willing to kneel down and look beneath their feet, or at a plant stem, and wants to know what they're looking at. As an introduction to insect diversity it is a highly enjoyable book, even when the amount of detail into the intimate lives of some insects gets a little tedious. Evans writes in simple and straightforward language, avoiding technical terms as much as possible, and the pages are interspersed with simple but informative black and white illustrations, including some insect structures and major experiments.
In addition to providing insight into the lives of the most common and familiar insects that share the world with us, Evans also introduces his readers to the more unusual species, known mostly to specialists. We learn of the microscopic parasitic wasp Trichogramma evanescens that lays her eggs inside other insects' eggs, sometimes many tiny adult wasps emerging from one moth egg. Or the peculiar habits of springtails, which do not have external genital organs and therefore do not mate at all, where the male leaves his drops of semen scattered around females on little stalks, and has to depend on chance that she will stumble on one.
Every detailed account of a particular species brings home the point that every species is unique, and has to be studied separately, because making generalizations from one species to another can be dangerous. Each insect is incredibly specialized to do only what is necessary for their immediate survival and reproduction, so that each species of insect has only a limited set of responses to a limited set of stimuli. As Evans puts it, every insect is adapted to doing "some things extremely well, and most things not at all". But he continues: "However, so many different kinds of insects have evolved that collectively they can do almost anything not requiring them to reason or to learn very much." Indeed, insects are so diverse that every species has the potential of teaching us something, if only we care to look.
The first chapter and the last two are more general, about people, insects, their relationships and their place in nature. In a chapter devoted to the human impact on nature-that of pesticides, introduced species, biological control, pollution, loss of habitats-Evans laments the loss of natural diversity in favor of human developments in an increasingly crowded planet and emphasizes the importance of preserving what is left, for its own sake as well as for the possibility of things we may still learn from the most obscure creatures. An intelligent application of biological control requires an in-depth knowledge of all the organisms involved and their web of interactions with the biological and physical aspects of their environment; the next medical breakthrough may lie in the hormonal regulation of a soil dwelling arthropod. But to reap these rewards requires an enormous amount of "basic research," curious inquiry into the basic biology of numerous organisms, not driven by immediately foreseeable benefits. It is precisely this type of research that Evans sees as being in danger in a world of "cost-benefit analysis" and "mission-oriented research".
Evans' writing is filled with humor, and he has a knack for summarizing many profound ideas into a witty one-liner. Unfortunately, in discussions of mating practices his brand of humor occasionally turns corny and cringe inducing, perhaps a telling sign of the fact this was written almost 40 years ago. On these occasions he tends to make analogies to human behavior, making statements and innuendo that to a modern reader accustomed to a politically correct world might seem insensitive if not downright sexist. But this in no way diminishes the quality of the content, as he describes the lives of insects with great knowledge and enthusiasm. His fascination with the living world, especially insects, is of the kind many people lose when they enter the adult world. The overarching theme, and his main argument throughout the book (if there is one), is that a lot of good can come from the study of insects and that people should devote more time to this greatly underestimated endeavor. There should be no urgency to look for life in outer space when the greatest mysteries of life on earth are still unsolved. By the end of the book we are left to share his hope that there will be enough curious minds, given enough funds, to pursue those mysteries.

I love this boook!!!!! Its easy to read, yet it goes into enough depth that you really learn about the insects. There's a whole chapter just on fireflies for example. Its the kind of book you can just pick up, read a chapter and say - wow, that's neat. (At least that's what i say) then I'll be outside and I'll be able to see whatever it is that I read about and understand so much more. So basically, the content is fantastic and the writing is so accessible that its not at all intimidating but also not patronizing. Its just very straightforward and so informative. I've learned so much. Its one of my favorite books and I wasn't even that into bugs before this. You won't go wrong with this one!

A co-worker showed me this book one day and after reading it I literally wanted to hug the book. It was so sweet. The illustrations are a perfect match to the loving story. The story is about a young boy and his grandfather and all the things they enjoy doing together. I'm neither a grandfather nor a grandson and I still loved this book dearly. I recommend it to anyone at all!

This gentle tale throws the reader a bit of a curve and leaves you with an "oh, yeah" affirmation. This story recounts the everyday adventures of a grandfather and his grandson, clearly two peas in a pod, who share a fondness for hot chocolate with tons of marshmallows, watching construction equipment, telling jokes, and just being in the "now."

Both the typography and illustrations evoke warmth and love, making this a great choice for reading to four- to seven-year-olds.

The whole book is heartwarming and lovely, but the end is the real clincher. I read it over and over again the first time I checked it out from the library, and decided it had to be part of my kid's permanent collection. The book starts off with "My favorite person is coming to visit me today..." and goes on to take you through a story of two people sharing time together and enjoying the simple things in life, like hot chocolate "with as many marshmallows as you want". It teaches that part of love is sharing small things in common together, and you're never too old to enjoy the company of a little person if you don't lose touch with the kid inside yourself.

I read this heartwarming book and instantly thought of my dad's relationship with his out-of-town grandchildren. Drinking cocoa, working on projects together, telling bad knock-knock jokes and reading stories are EXACTLY what my niece and nephew like to do with their grandpa when they visit. Now grandpa will have a new story to share!

What a wonderfully beautiful little book! Hiroe Nakata's brilliant watercolours are a perfect match for the elegant story. I recommend this treasure to anyone. ENJOY!

This review pertains to the "We Both Read" series not just this individual volume.
I discovered these books when my 5YO brought them home from the school library. They are unique stories full of sight words and repetition on the child's page - all reinforcing the reading skills that they are learning in school. I have had a hard time finding books for the beginner reader that are neither too simplistic to keep their interest nor too difficult for the true beginner. The adult's page is not so simplistic as to bore an adult to tears but still simple enough that an older child can read to the younger one.
The process of taking turns makes the reading easy so as not to frustrate beginners if they have to get through a whole book themselves and at the same time does not let them sit passive while you read a whole book to them. The books keep the child actively engaged as they have to notice when it is their turn to read. In addition to learning the words, they are learning verbal cues from your tone to determine when it is their turn (often with a rhyming word) and they can learn how to read with expression.
I have bought at least a dozen titles in this series for my own kindergartener and for several other children at this age level. Everyone (parents and kids) has been very happy with them and they have asked where I found them. My niece, a first grade teacher, has even recommended them to her school for their "Reading Buddy" program where kindergarteners are paired with 5th graders.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Florrie Binford-Kichler, Founder of Patria Press, Inc.- an award-winning independent publisher and Member of The Children's Book Council; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

What's a little ladybug to do when the school bus is coming and she can't find her shoes? With the help of her friends she searches everywhere for the lost shoes. With rich colors, the detailed illustrations keep a child's attention riveted to the book. This book is one of the We Both Read series where more detailed reading is on the left side of the page for the parent to read and the child's page on the right has only two or three words in larger type. "Lulu's Lost Shoes" is a recommended children's book for all ages.

This book keeps everyone happy when my 6 year old (or my 4 year old) want to help read, but the 3 year old doesn't have the patience to listen to stories at their pace.

We have about four of the "We read togher" books. Lu Lu's shoes is the hands down favorite. Cute story line, nice illistrations and just a few words on the child's side.

Some of the books in this series were about equal difficulty on the child and parent sides. When your child can read that well, there are millions of books (many with better illistrations/stories) they can help read. The joy of this series to to have books they can help read when they still need to sound out each letter.

To see how difficult the book is, check the exerpts part of the 'look inside' section to see a sample of the parent side,the child side, and the illistrations.

I recently purchased "Lulu's Lost Shoes" by Paula Blankenship to give to my grandson who just graduated from preschool. I had the joy to watch his mother read it with him for the first time. The book is so creatively written and illustrated that my grandson was able to read his pages with ease. The ease of his reading comprehension captivated the attention of everyone in the room which increased his desire to read it again and again and again... This is creditably one of the best investments I have ever made.

My daughter loves reading about her favorite Sunny Patch friends. And I love being able to turn off the TV. Images are beautiful. A pleasure to read.

My grandson is totally in love with Miss Spider Books. He carries them around with him all the time. When his dad tells him to get a book to read at bedtime (or anytime) he ALWAYS gets one of his Miss Spider Books.

I've been reading this book to my daughter since she was 6 months old. She loves all of the Miss Spider books. It could be the great colors or the wonderful rhymes. Maybe it's because I adore it too! The best thing about this particular book is the fact that Miss Spider adopts babies who are not spiders. I think teaching kids that loving families don't all look alike is a powerful message. It's never too early to start those good messages.

This is another worthy Miss Spider entry. It's fun to think of Miss Spider as a mother and a wife. She's definitely still in charge! The rhyme is still there and fun to read.

My 4 year old wants me to read this book EVERY night. She's memorized almost all the words and LOVES to finish the rhymes. Squirt learns he can pursue a noble goal - finding the mother of the egg - through lots of dangers. Parents are reassured that they ARE teaching their children to be "brave and good". One of my favorite books... I'll be setting it aside in my kids' "memory boxes" for them to read to their children, and I'm buying more copies for Christmas gifts this year.

The book is beautifully presented with exceptional diagrams and step by step instructions. There are many different varieties of flowers not found in other books, exotic orchics and beautiful butterflies. I love it.

I received my book very quickly, Amazon kept me informed via email that the order was received and when the book was sent. Great service.

I've been working with beads for many years, and creating french beaded flowers for at least 20 years, and I STILL was very impressed with this book (which isn't easy to do!) The instructions are clear and the designs are wonderful! It's hard to say if a beginner would view it the same since I have been working with this art form for so long, but I believe it would be an excellent instructional guide, and a fantastic addition to every beading artist & hobbyist's library.

I bought Dalene's first French Beaded Flowers book and used it extensively. I was happy to add the second one to my collection. It is a very project-based book like the first one. I have made a number of the flowers already. The instructions are clear and concise. A good book for beginners.

Dalene's second book of French Beaded Flowers is a welcome addition to her first. I've already made several of the flowers! Her instructions are clear, and the flowers are just beautiful. Good work, Dalene!

I've had Kelly's first book (as a section of a larger beading book) for a while and have had great fun with it. The flowers in this second book are just as beautiful. The instructions are clear and relatively easy to follow. I've already done a couple of the projects and they've turned out well.

Now for the caution flag. Kelly's first book is titled 'French-Beaded Flowers: New Millennium Collection'. This second book is titled 'More French Beaded Flowers: 38 Patterns for Blossoms, Leaves, Bugs & More'.

However, there is another Kelly book that you may see, titled 'French Beaded Flowers'. Be aware that this seemingly THIRD Kelly book is the UK's version of the second book. The only differences between the two books are the cover, the longer title and the publisher. The project content is exactly the same. Judging from the dates of the reviews written for the UK version, it seems to have been published first. Maybe the publishers of the U.S. version decided to add the word 'MORE' to the title just to be different. Or maybe it was some type of legal thing. The one thing it IS, is confusing to the consumer.

So, please don't be fooled by the cover, like I was and buy both of them. As far as I know, there are only two books by Dalene Kelly on French Beaded Flowers, not three.

No Longer a Dilly Dally was about two families who moved away from their friends to start a new home in the country. I thought this was a very good book about the lesson of getting your work done first and playing later. It would be a good book about the lesson of hard work and working first before you play. My family is just like the Work Play Family, and even though we follow this good rule, I still have lots of time to play. Great color and illustration, I really like the pictures. My Mom and I read this book together and had a good laugh about how the Work Play Family was just like us.

Children will love the antics of the ant families and the valuable lesson they portray. They will certainly love the cute illustrations. Any child will easily grasp the message about proper balance between work and play. My grandson love bugs so I know he'll love this story.

What parent doesn't spend alot of time trying to convince their child that play time comes after work time. This book is a fun way to reinforce that lesson to kids. Great book!

No Longer A Dilly Dally is an adorable book about the hard working ants, however some ants don't understand that in order to eat they must work first. This story warms your heart as you see the Dilly Dally's learn a hard lesson about laziness. The picture illlustrations are superb and they put a smile on my face. As usual, they have lots of detail. I will share this book with my class and it will enable me to integrate teaching about ants and hard work.

No Longer a Dilly Dally is a fantastic book for teaching young children the very important life lessons of hard work. Sommer does an excellent job of portraying the difference between two ant families, one that plays first then works; the other that works first and then plays. Depending on their choice of whether to work or play first, Sommer takes the reader through a season in which young children can understand the importance of planning and preparing through hard work, perseverence and dedication to a task. An incredible way to introduce these concepts to young readers and even toddlers.

In a very easy to read and understandable format, Sommer drives home the point of teaching our young people the importance of hard work in the formation of their character. My three and half year old loved the book and grasped the concepts well. It provided a great basis for communication in our home on the importance of hard work before play. Our society has slipped away from the traditional roles of hard work before play, this book helps to bring this foundation back into alignment. It was an important lesson for both my child and myself. I look forward to reading additional materials by Carl Sommer and adding them to our home library.

"Wow! Mommy, it's a snake!" I heard those very words as a little one-year-old boy sat enthralled, flipping through pages of stunning pictures of lively bugs and of curving words crawling across the pages of Oddhopper Opera: A Bug's Garden of Verses.

Oddhopper Opera is a combination of rhyming verses and colorful drawings of bugs and animals. The child gets an insider's look into a bug's race in an unattended garden. Filled with bugs of all shapes and sizes, this garden provides the backdrop for the story line, that of a race among the bugs to get to the finish line. Its incorporation of poetry into an otherwise "science"- seeming children's book will broaden the imagination of any child.

Though there is a creative, wide range of vocabulary, it makes it a difficult independent read for a child (for example, "Once up on a garden rotten, Twice forlorn and half forgotten").

Oddhopper Opera doesn't shy away from the facts of life, apparent in some of these example lines "dung balls rolling - move `em out," "Feeling kind of bloated," "'Papa, O Papa Bug, what will we eat?' "`It's gummy, it's yummy, it's dung! What a treat!'"

Regarding format, some of the words follow the twists and curves of the pictures, making it a challenge for a child of ages 5 to 10 to read independently, but a fun journey to read with, or to, a child.

The intriguing mix of poetry, stunning pictures, bugs and action-filled pages will keep children's attention and increase curiosity about what's going on in their own backyards.

Armchair Interviews says: If bugs bug you, or you love bugs, this book will bring you down to their level of living.

Oddhoppers Opera is a wonderful book on so many levels.
Kurt Cyrus takes you into a garden on a cold, wet, winters day and you follow through the story as the plants, bugs, snails and snakes come alive with his discriptive poems.
The illustrations are deatailed and colorful(without seeming unatural), and the text on many of the pages become part of the garden itself as the words bend, twist and tunnel through the pages. Many of the pages seem like a search and find book because with each reading we find details we overlooked before.
I try to buy books that springboard my children into other areas of learning and this book is perfect for science and poetry (two subjects not ususally used together), but it is also just as enjoyable to use as a preschoolers "let's cuddle up a read a story" book.

P.S. We just recieved Hotel Deep: Light Verse From Dark Water and it is another 5 for Kurt Cyrus!

That is what the words remind me of when I read this to my son. Incredibly descriptive, I can smell the fall garden as the vegetables slowly rot away and the (unseen to the human eye) insect life carries out there fall toil. My 4 year old sons' favorite is (of course) the dung beetles while my wife and I admire Cyrus' artistic and lyrical style. We are anxiously awaiting his next book "Hotel Deep" and and admire his artwork on "Buddy Holly" as well as "The Bones of Fred McFee" a seasonal story that is appropriate for Halloween.

If you love children's poetry, or bugs, or snails, or frogs, or gardens, or humor, or fabulous art, you will enjoy this book. :-) Cyrus is not only a talented illustrator, but this book proves he is also a gifted writer. Here is part of the beginning:

Once upon a garden rotten, Twice forlorn and half forgotten...

Drip--drip--cold and wet. Winter isn't over yet.

Drip--drip--soaking, sopping, Always dripping, never stopping.

This is just beginning of the many rhythmic, funny, surprises crawling inside. A must see-- A must read-- A must own! Enjoy!

"Once upon a garden rotten,/Twice forlorn and half forgotten..." So begins Kurt Cyrus' marvelous collection of "a bug's garden of verses." As winter ends and spring blooms, all the creatures begin to wake up and come to the surface. Join aphids, bees, crickets, dung beetles, earwigs, and fleas, grubs, katydids, snakes, snails, frogs, stinkbugs, and many other creepy, crawly, slimy friends as they eat, work, and play. The seasons change and spring turns to summer, and then summer turns to autumn, when "Drip-drip-wet and muddy./Party's over, everybody." Mr Cyrus' exuberant and entertaining text is full of energy and motion, and wonderfully enhanced by his bold, vibrant and engaging artwork. These illustrations are a real feast for the eyes, and youngsters will enjoy poring over the pictures, and always finding something new and humorous each time they open the book. Perfect for little entomologists aged 6-10, Oddhopper Opera is a very creative and innovative look at the garden, and all who live there.

This book is absolutely my favorite to read to my kids. Stories that I can make come to life and create some adreneline in them are fabulous and this one certainly does it. We stumbled across it at the library and I HAD to order it -- not to be found in a brick and mortar book store. Get it today! You'll be reading it forever!

Check out "Storms Comin" too.

This book was absolutely great. My 7 year old thought it was funny and we had a lot of fun in the creak-creak-creak and the crick-crick-cricks. Besides being an entertaining story, the underlying message about excuses and what goes around comes around couldn't be better.

Old Cricket is a delight! Having read Wheeler's other books, this one was another jewel to add to our growing home library. You don't get to be a smart cooky unless you read the best books, and Wheeler knows exactly what we like!

Another one from the talented Lisa Wheeler! It is perfect for a teacher gift. . .there are SO many learning strands that it applies to! as well as to the person in your life that just wants a delightful story.

A read aloud that is sure to please! :))

There are few things I like better in this world than finding a great new read-aloud picture book for my library storytimes. Maybe Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream, but that's about it. For me, a book that reads well to large screaming hoards of five-year-olds is worth its weight in gold. I don't know how I missed the publication of "Old Cricket" back in 2003, but I give you my solemn word of honor that it will rarely find itself anywhere but in my finest storytime collection from now on.

On a fine clear morning Old Cricket wakes up on the wrong side of bed. He's feeling particularly cantankerous and his missus tells him in no uncertain terms to fix the roof. "You don't get to be an old cricket by being a dumb bug" the text informs us, so Cricket makes up an imaginary creak in his knee to get out of the job. While en route to the doctor (or so his wife thinks) he meets up with his cousin, Katydid. She asks him to help pick some berries off the bush, but Old Cricket adds a fake crick in his neck to accompany the supposed creak in his knee. You see where this is going. Ants ask him to help them bring in the last of the corn and a crack in his back is the additional malady. It's only when he meets up with Old Crow who wants to eat him that his tricks no longer work ("You don't get to be an old crow by being a birdbrain") and he develops every physical ailment that he invented in the process of running away. In the end, Cricket does visit Doc Hopper (who's name will remind certain members of my generation of the villain in "The Muppet Movie", I'm sure) and is cured. So it's homeward to fix the roof and a happy ending for one and all.

The text reads aloud beautifully with lots of different voices, plenty of "cricks" "creaks" and "cracks" to sound out the text, and a fast-paced chase sequence for those who weren't paying attention at the beginning. Author Lisa Wheeler has slowly been making a name for herself and I look forward to reading other titles of hers like "Sailor Moo". The repetition in this book works beautifully for younger readers and I daresay this would make an excellent storytelling tale sans book if it came to that.

Not that you should forget about the gorgeous pictures accompanying the text. Rendered in acrylic paints, artist Ponder Goembel (who's first name I may well steal for my own child someday) throws her back into this book. Every animal here is rendered realistically with a kind of gently shaded sheen. Leaves sport natural holes and bites, and though every animal (with the exception of the nudist ants) wears clothing in this tale, it never looks unnatural or out of place. Old Cricket, for example, doffs a worn red cap and what looks to be a fisherman's vest when he goes out into the world. I especially enjoyed the little details that appeared here and there. Old Cricket has only one antennae, a fact that becomes crystal clear when he and the missus (also lacking that particular protuberance) pose in a final touching shot. Even if your child is not reading on their own yet, they'll be delightedly poring through this book for hours and hours on end.

I certainly hope that "Old Cricket" won itself a fair share of awards the year it came out. This book needs to be on every reading list in the country for kids below the age of... oh say.... 72. Funny, fine, and frantic, it is the kind of book every author of folktales hopes to write and so few actually do.

I bought this title when I heard Mr. Harley speak at a library conference and found him to be an entertaining speaker. When my 3-year-old picked this from our bookshelf one evening, I thought it might be a little too "wordy" for him to sit through, but he was fascinated by the story. It has become a favorite for him to hear and me to tell. Thank you Bill Harley for an incredibly creative story.

This is the best read aloud book I have come across recently. I am an elementary school librarian and my students beg me to read it again and again. Bill Harley is a hit with children. He has a gift creating songs and books that make children laugh. What is better than a healthy laugh!

This is a wonderful book! Bill Harley is a great storyteller. My 6 year old son loves this story and even though I have read it over and over, I still enjoy it. It's lots of fun to read out loud. It makes us realize that we all have stories to tell.

This is a really excellent book to read to your children. It is written with a lot of imagination but the pictures really bring the story to life!

This is one of the most imaginative books I've ever read. Bill Harley is a master story teller. I thouroughly enjoyed squeezing down the anthill with Sarah. I think this book is a great addition to anyone's library.