Bugs from Head to Tail

by Stacey Roderick, Kwanchai Moriya (Illustrator)

Overview

In the latest addition to the popular Head to Tail series, author Stacey Roderick focuses on bugs — a kid favorite! — and challenges readers to guess which bug each of eight different body parts belongs to. A full spread asks a question about a body part, “What bug has eyes like this?” with an illustrated close-up of that part. The following spread provides the answer to the question, “A grasshopper!” along with a full illustration of the creature in its habitat and a paragraph of text about the highlighted body part, in this case the grasshopper's eyes. Children learn about the bugs' habitats, diets, behaviors and standout skills. There's even a trick question: “What bug has a tail like this?” The answer is “None.” Bugs don't have tails! The interactive guessing-game of the text — with just the right amount of repetition — makes this an ideal choice for reading aloud. The bright, eye-catching cut-paper collage illustrations by Kwanchai Moriya have a playful charm and invite young children to study the details up close. Besides the eight featured bugs, there is an additional spread that includes seven other bugs and their unusual body parts, as well as text that explores which animals are categorized as bugs, or “arthropods.” This nonfiction book has direct applications to the life science curriculum in the early grades, which covers the physical characteristics and habitats of living things.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771387293
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	10/03/2017
Series:	Head to Tail Series
Pages:	36
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Kwanchai Moriya is an illustrator and painter. He was born in New York and grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. He completed his education with a degree in History from the University of California and a degree in Illustration from the Art Center College of Design. Kwanchai lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Editorial Reviews

Attractive, informative, and beautifully designed.—Kirkus Reviews

A successful example of read-aloud nonfiction that would be a welcome addition to most library collections.—School Library Journal

... a wonderful tool to introduce young entomologists to the enigmatic world of bugs.—CM Magazine

From the Publisher

2017-06-14
In this introductory picture book, each of eight different "bugs" is allotted four pages, which include an initial, illustrated question followed by the answer and then additional art and text.Following the title's lead, the first question, in large lettering on the verso, is "What kind of bug has a head like this?" An enormous paper collage resembling the head of a rhinoceros spreads across both pages. Upon turning the page, the lettering triumphantly announces, "A rhinoceros beetle!" and gives a few exciting facts about the creature. On this double-page spread, a full-bodied, paper-collage rhinoceros beetle is surrounded by its environment—created from mixed-media, including photographs of stones and underbrush. Equally impressive combinations of art and text follow. The text is clear, and scientific vocabulary includes concise definitions, as in "These wings are part of the ladybug's exoskeleton, or ‘outside skeleton.' " The questions move from head to antennae to eyes to body to wings to hair to legs to tail—with "tail" explained as a trick question. The final double-page spread offers a gallery of seven more "awesome bugs" and a sidebar about further classifications. Every digitally created habitat collage is a worthy match to the carefully worded text. The round, wide-pupiled eyes of the bugs make them all—even the tarantula—appear benign and endearing. Even the aquamarine endpapers abound with friendly bug images. Attractive, informative, and beautifully designed. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews