Bonkers About Beetles

by Owen Davey

Overview

A Children's Book Council 2019 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12.

Owen Davey's dynamic art and witty informational tidbits shine a light on the toughest bugs in the insect world: those brawny beetles!

Did you know that there are roughly 400,000 different species of beetles? These incredible creatures make up about 25% of all animals on our planet! Beetles are superbly adapted to life in various climates across the world, wherever trees and flowers are found. From the mighty Goliath beetle to the beautiful iridescent scarab beetle, this captivating and stunningly illustrated guide will teach you everything you need to know about these fascinating insects.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781911171980
Publisher:	Flying Eye Books Ltd.
Publication date:	06/05/2018
Series:	About Animals , #4
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,152,428
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.50(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Owen Davey is a freelance illustrator, living and working out of Leicester, UK. He graduated with a First Class Degree in Illustration from Falmouth University and his work has since been published in every continent except Antarctica, including picture books in UK, America, Australia, Germany, France, Portugal, China & Korea. He has also created illustrations for many brands including the New York Times, Facebook, and Microsoft.

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/21/2018
Davey offers a fact-filled, strikingly illustrated introduction to beetles (an addition to the About Animals series). Working in a dramatic graphic style, Davey renders the beetle subjects with crisp, geometric precision, while representing the exquisite range of colors and patterns to be found among the roughly 400,000 known species. Sections with playful headings (such as “Born This Way”) explore topics including beetle life cycles and metamorphosis, while infographics convey details about beetle anatomy, biology, and behavior: one chart demonstrates fireflies’ flight and flash patterns. Elsewhere, images focus on the beauty and ecological resilience of particular species: a longhorn beetle shows how its blotchy black, gold, and orange markings allow it to camouflage itself against tree bark. Davey offers a dazzling exploration of some of Earth’s most diverse, ubiquitous—not to mention, kaleidoscopic—insects. Ages 5–9. (June)

Publishers Weekly

07/01/2018
Gr 2–5—Davey introduces readers to the vast variety of beetle species. Beetles inhabit all types of environments, including our own homes, and live on every continent except Antarctica. Davey describes the beetle's life cycle and identifies all their parts, their food sources, and their defense tactics including camouflage, and explains the importance of beetles for a healthy ecosystem. The text chronicles that beetles are found in several mythologies, as well Egyptian art. With more than 400,000 difference species of beetles, Davey points out that not all of them have been given common names, so the Latin names are often used with the illustrations. The author concludes the volume with an illustration of a bug hotel that readers can build to help creepy-crawlies flourish and survive the winter months. Davey's illustrations are dynamic; the beetles take center stage with the text appearing in a small font. VERDICT A welcome addition to STEM collections—the mixing of science and art is an added bonus.—Patricia Ann Owens, formerly at Illinois Eastern Community College, Mt. Carmel

School Library Journal

"Witty and informative, this handsome book may not transform beetle-aversion into beetle-mania, exactly, but it may cut down on those atavistic yelps of disgust."
—Wall Street Journal

"Davey offers a dazzling exploration of some of Earth’s most diverse, ubiquitous—not to mention, kaleidoscopic—insects."
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

"Bonkers About Beetles consists of pages on everything you ever wanted to know about beetles, from the largest to the smallest member of the order Coleoptera!"
—Samantha D’Acunto, New York Botanical Garden

"Filled with fun facts and exciting information about every beetle a person could think of, Bonkers About Beetles is a book that no matter how many times looked through, something new can always be found!"
—The Tiny Activist

“These books are a perfect choice for any kids interests about Nature, Wild Animals, Insects, etc.! They are fun and interactive, a great combination of basic descriptions as wells as facts about them from all around the world! The information is presented in a very fresh and innovative way. The wording and illustrations are a good balance to support learning.”
 —Tales of Kids

From the Publisher