Bug Bites

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Elementary-school students who love collecting “shocking” facts will
adore nature writer Diane Swanson’s visit to the darker side of the
world of insects. Each of the book’s seven chapters (which bear
enticing titles like “Dashing Dragons” and “Menacing Mantids”)
focuses on one of the many “super mini-beasts of the world.” Swanson
provides an up-close look at the daily dramas experienced by various
insects as they hunt for prey while trying to avoid becoming prey
themselves. Her lively and engaging text traces each insect’s life
cycle in an interesting but “nonteachy” fashion. Supplementing the
main text are informative boxed inserts, black-and-white drawings, and
some 30 color photographs (most of the photos were supplied by the Royal
British Columbia Museum).

A worthwhile addition to school and public libraries. Highly
recommended.