Bugs for Lunch [Hardcover]

Margery Facklam (Author), Sylvia Long (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1999 | Age Level: 3 and up

You might be a toad, or a spider, or a shrew. . . . Or you might just be you! Children will enjoy learning about the habits of a variety of insectivorous creatures (bug-eaters, that is), presented in simple verse and close-up double-page illustrations. Additional details appear in the back of the book, to help satisfy the curious. Or the hungry.

Sylvia Long's rich color illustrations will leave you squirming with delight.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Here's the buzz from this chipper picture book: though they may not be everyone's favorite dish, bugs make tasty treats for many creatures, even humans. In simple rhyming verse, Facklam (The Big Bug Book) offers a list of critters that regularly dine on insects: "If your lunch was a bug,/ Who could you be?/ Maybe a nuthatch/ At work in a tree... You might be a gecko/ Or maybe a mouse,/ Eating the insects/ In somebody's house." An illustrated glossary expands on these basics, providing a plethora of fun facts. Simultaneously crisp and airy, Long's (Hush Little Baby; Ten Little Rabbits) pen, ink and watercolor compositions capture the natural world in realistic detail. Many young readers will delight in the "yuck" factor of depictions of children eating grubs roasted over a campfire or serving up stir-fried dragonflies on rice. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-Facklam's cheerful, rhyming text introduces the read-to-me set (and beginning readers as well) to a variety of critters whose collation of choice is insects. A bat, a toad, a spider, a Venus flytrap, and even humans are shown catching an assortment of bugs on every eye-catching double-page spread. The excellent pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations are large, colorful, and realistic, showing not only the designated diner and intended entr?e, but also a host of other insects, from ladybugs to damselflies, creeping and crawling and flittering about inside and outside of the margins. The closing three pages provide brief, informative paragraphs on each "bug-catcher," emphasizing its hunting methods. Unfortunately, the plethora of prey is largely left unidentified, which will probably lead to frustrating questions from young admirers of this handsome volume. Still, this is an attractive, high-interest book with an intriguing title and dramatic illustrations.
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing; F edition (February 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881062715
• ISBN-13: 978-0881062717
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,997,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Yet Honest Explanation, December 2, 2000

By 

Peggy Shields (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bugs for Lunch (Hardcover)

Set in rhyme, this is a great book with large, detailed illustrations. Honestly describes carnivorous creepy-crawlies (not too many details, though). Includes spiders with insects under broad group, all simply called ''bugs.'' Introduces concept of bug-eating humans in places ''where meat is scarce.'' Further explanation (without the confines of rhyme) is given at the end of the book in list form, beside thumbnail pictures of each page. Not for the VERY young (I carefully stressed to my 4 year old that the people who eat bugs prepare them first) or for the child still disturbed by animals eating each other.

5.0 out of 5 stars book review, August 14, 2009

By 

Jodi L. Turner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bugs for Lunch (Hardcover)

Fun book for teaching about insects as food sources. Book arrived in excellent condition. Thanks!