Face to Face with Caterpillars (Face to Face with Animals) [Library Binding]

Darlyne A. Murawski (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Face to Face with Animals

Ever had an in-your-face encounter with a caterpillar? Darlyne Murawski came eye-to-eye with a spiny caterpillar in Costa Rica—and was severely stung by the harmless-looking creepy-crawly. But she still got the picture. It's one of many caterpillar close-ups which illustrate this extraordinary book. Readers learn to study these insects like the experts: witness the astonishing life cycle with its metamorphosis from caterpillar to pupa to butterfly; see the amazing snake-like defenses of some poisonous species; and the silk stitching used by others to build leafy hideaways.

Face to Face with Caterpillars encourages an active study of this intriguing insect: How to find caterpillars, how to raise a monarch, how to help preserve their habitats, how to photograph the caterpillar, and how to learn more; it's all in Darlyne Murawski's fun book

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 3–6—These books have remarkable color photos and intriguing observations. Engaging stories about the photographers' field experiences are punctuated with factual information about the animals yet focus on situations that will encourage young researchers to take up a camera, too. Murawski tells how to find caterpillars and discusses their developmental stages, body parts, diet problems, and self-defense mechanisms. Heavy on safety recommendations, the second title provides generalizations about diet, hibernation, and what bear biologists are learning from radio-collaring grizzlies and the animals' loss of habitat. Both books have a closing "Facts at a Glance" section and advice on how to go about self-directed research. Attractive, well written, and fascinating.—Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Author and photographer Darlyne A. Murawski has researched and documented caterpillars from India to Papua New Guinea. The subjects of her seven articles in National Geographic magazine include butterflies, moths, and caterpillars.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books; Library ed edition (May 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426300530
• ISBN-13: 978-1426300530
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 0.3 x 10.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,268,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous photos., December 10, 2010

By 

Michael Christofield "michael" (Central Indiana USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Face to Face with Caterpillars (Face to Face with Animals) (Paperback)

The photos in this book are exceptional. They are large and close-up and varied. I got it for my 3-year-old son for Christmas. As he loves pictures of insects, I expect he's going to be wowed by this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars The magnificent photographs in this book will "WOW" the reader!, July 13, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Face to Face with Caterpillars (Face to Face with Animals) (Hardcover)

If you see a "winged adult" you know you are looking at a caterpillar who beat the odds because most of them end up being lunch for another predator as they are quite low on the food chain. Not all caterpillars are harmless, but most tend to be. The author was stung by the spines of one during a photographic shoot in the wild and was reeling in pain for twenty minutes. There are approximately "17,000 species of butterflies and 145,000 species of moths." If you are a butterfly or moth hunter, you will have plenty to add to your visual collection!

In this book you will learn about how they live, what they eat, some of the unusual ways they protect themselves, how they camouflage themselves, their life stages (metamorphosis), how they see, how they breathe with spiracles, their assorted diets, how they often "become dinner themselves" and you'll learn about some unusual caterpillars who make their homes with ants. Did you know that if a predator tries to attack a tent caterpillar it will "vomit a toxic chemical?" That is one caterpillar that means business!

This book reads like a novel and the magnificent accompanying photographs are very appealing and add as much to the book as the text does. Many of the photographs are what I call "extreme closeups," ones that really make the book come alive because the reader almost gets a microscopic view of the caterpillar. In the back of the book is a glossary, an index, a section detailing "how you can help" caterpillars, suggested assignments and a two-page spread with concise facts. Caterpillars are on every continent except for one. Do you think you know which continent that is? If not, you might want to read this book!