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By Charles Micucci - The Life and Times of the Ant
Not mighty in size, but mighty in resourcefulness and industry, the ant has crawled the earth since prehistoric times. It has dwelt in rainforest tree trunks and acorns of oak trees, beneath logs, and under sidewalks. It has protected forests by capturing insects, cleared weeds away from acacia trees, and by growing gardens has released important nutrients into the soil. Seed lifters, dirt diggers, social beings, ants have the most advanced brain of all insects! So watch where you step, especially on a warm day: a small but mighty ant may be underfoot.
Unknown Binding
First published March 24, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 2, 2013
The Life and Times of the Ant by Charles Micucci, published 2006.
Nonfiction.
Picture book.
Grades 1-4.
Found via Booklist, reviewed by Kay Weisman.
This book is a thorough look at ants, from their body parts to their habitats, food, and roles within colonies. Micucci provides a lot of information in this book, but each page is divided up so that the amount of text is not overwhelming for readers. All of the illustrations are drawn and colored, which allows readers to clearly see the intended information, but this also lends the illustrations to anthropomorphization that could confuse readers. Despite this, though, Micucci provides a good book on ants for more accomplished readers, as it provides more information on the subject than a beginning reader book can due to content limitations. Reviewer Weisman agreees, saying, "Overall, the presentation is informative, stimulating, and attractive, with just enough humor to reel in the intended audience. A good choice for report writers and for browsers." For middle elementary students, this book would be a good resource, especially if paired with another book that has photographs of ants.
Nonfiction.
Picture book.
Grades 1-4.
Found via Booklist, reviewed by Kay Weisman.
This book is a thorough look at ants, from their body parts to their habitats, food, and roles within colonies. Micucci provides a lot of information in this book, but each page is divided up so that the amount of text is not overwhelming for readers. All of the illustrations are drawn and colored, which allows readers to clearly see the intended information, but this also lends the illustrations to anthropomorphization that could confuse readers. Despite this, though, Micucci provides a good book on ants for more accomplished readers, as it provides more information on the subject than a beginning reader book can due to content limitations. Reviewer Weisman agreees, saying, "Overall, the presentation is informative, stimulating, and attractive, with just enough humor to reel in the intended audience. A good choice for report writers and for browsers." For middle elementary students, this book would be a good resource, especially if paired with another book that has photographs of ants.
July 21, 2021
We found this great fun, very entertaining and educational! Appreciate the mostly realistic illustrations blended with some more humorous and "cartoony" ones (my youngest loved those). The text is more detailed than many picture books but was still accessible for my five-year-old, and my eight-year-old was also very engaged. I, too, learned a few things about ants. I appreciate the focus is on showing that ants are beneficial members of the ecosystem (it does mention a few that humans want to be wary of). A good antidote to all the books where ants are only seen as pests stealing picnic lunches ;-) This would be a five star if it had a Bibliography or other references. Highly recommend to young etymologists or anyone looking to have better appreciation of and for ants.
May 31, 2022
We really like these books. Very interesting.
Want to read
June 20, 2023Thanks Julia! I had never heard of this, but it sounds wonderful!
December 30, 2017
what a very impressive research was done by this author!
I found a lot here that I had no.idea of just how social these insects really are and how they are in some respects a lot like we humans who really need to ask for help we need it instead of trying to do everything on our own skills and powers. One thing that bothered me was there were pages and or sections I would have liked to try to read but could not because I was not able to get the print big enough to be able to read it successfully sometimes when. tried to double tap on a particular area the page might turn either forwards or backwards or not even move at all. But I would recommend this for anyone really wanting to fight with this ebook to read all of these exciting facts. Great job otherwise. I received this for free and in return, here's my honest review. By Sunny.
I found a lot here that I had no.idea of just how social these insects really are and how they are in some respects a lot like we humans who really need to ask for help we need it instead of trying to do everything on our own skills and powers. One thing that bothered me was there were pages and or sections I would have liked to try to read but could not because I was not able to get the print big enough to be able to read it successfully sometimes when. tried to double tap on a particular area the page might turn either forwards or backwards or not even move at all. But I would recommend this for anyone really wanting to fight with this ebook to read all of these exciting facts. Great job otherwise. I received this for free and in return, here's my honest review. By Sunny.
May 1, 2022
This story is included in the reading anthology we use in fourth grade. It is one of the better stories that we read yearly. But the story is incomplete.
Our school library has the actual book. I estimate that ir is twice as long as what we read with the students. An important detail that we do not get that is in the book is that the ants in the nest are all female. Male ants have wings and live but a few months. Once Queenie is impregnated, the males die. That leaves the females to do all the work. Fun fact!
Lots of other interesting information is included in this book. Micucci does a wonderful job presenting the information here. The grpahics, while cute, serve the story so well. This is good stuff.
Our school library has the actual book. I estimate that ir is twice as long as what we read with the students. An important detail that we do not get that is in the book is that the ants in the nest are all female. Male ants have wings and live but a few months. Once Queenie is impregnated, the males die. That leaves the females to do all the work. Fun fact!
Lots of other interesting information is included in this book. Micucci does a wonderful job presenting the information here. The grpahics, while cute, serve the story so well. This is good stuff.
November 18, 2017
This is a cute and informative book, which we really enjoyed and incorporated into our nature notebooks. It gives lots of interesting details, and the illustrations are fun.
Note: It is written from an evolutionary perspective. A few pages put forth evolution and definite millions-of-years dates as factual, rather than as theory. Good discussion starter for how the same evidence can be interpreted through different worldviews and arrive at different conclusions.
Note: It is written from an evolutionary perspective. A few pages put forth evolution and definite millions-of-years dates as factual, rather than as theory. Good discussion starter for how the same evidence can be interpreted through different worldviews and arrive at different conclusions.
March 10, 2022
March is learning about the jungle. This book has a wealth of information. Lots of side facts to compliment the main text. Though there is a lot of text, the main text is short and to the point. Even young children will enjoy it. The illustrations are realistic with a scientific textbook and comic feel to them sometimes.
May 17, 2020
ant info, if you are curious about ANTs ...this will be a fun read for you ... i learned a lot ... i love that. great illustrations. i was raised in an area with no FIRE ants ... can not imagine living with those .. look so scary ... live and learn i guess. great reading/educational source.
November 21, 2016
Children will learn that even the tiniest creature such as an ant plays a very important role in nature. This can also be used as a tool for teaching this lesson about students in a classroom or just children in general in society. The illustrations in this book are very detailed and life-like which is really good because it is an informational book which means we need to keep it real for the children. However, cartoon figures of ants in human guise are liberally sprinkled among the more factual drawings, which could be confusing because the ants keep changing how they look. This book is great for children in grades 1-5 because it offers useful information in a very fun and interesting way.
July 29, 2014
Micucci provided a lot of information in this book. For example, readers can see ants their habitats, food they eat, their body parts and roles within the colonies. I enjoyed the fact that much of the information in this book was compressed into the illustrations. I think this made the book more interactive for readers, genius. I wish there were real photos instead of drawings, overall a very informative useful book. I would definitely recommend this book when teaching and or learning about ants.
May 24, 2013
Another non-fiction book with illustrations instead of photos. I think it'a juat my own hang-up. The information is good your students, maybe ages 7 through 10 or so. Students were inspired by the illustrations to make their own cross sections of an ant colony. They turned out very nice. It's a usefyul book for teaching about ants.
April 8, 2012
Great non-fiction for both a 6 and 8-year-old. Nice art.
March 17, 2015
this book is interested with children. they will learn about ants: kinds of ants, what do ants eat? ....
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May 1, 2016This book was about all the things people want to know about ants. This book was full of interesting facts and the pictures went along well throughout the book
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October 2, 2016This is a good book to teach students about ants.
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February 7, 2018A really antty book,read in my ca treasures
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April 16, 20191) None
2) 1st-3rd
3) In this book, we follow an ant around while learning about how it lives and the role that it plays in nature. We learn about how their bodies are made up and what kind of habitats they need in order to survive.
4) I enjoy this book because I think that it can teach children a variety of things while keeping their interests sparked by using something that they can see in their everyday life.
5) This can be a useful book in the classroom to teach about the different insects and bugs that can be found in nature and how they help nature with their individual roles. Lessons can be focused on the ant, but can be furthered to other creatures, such as bees, spiders, etc and how they are made up, how they interact with the environment or how they live.
2) 1st-3rd
3) In this book, we follow an ant around while learning about how it lives and the role that it plays in nature. We learn about how their bodies are made up and what kind of habitats they need in order to survive.
4) I enjoy this book because I think that it can teach children a variety of things while keeping their interests sparked by using something that they can see in their everyday life.
5) This can be a useful book in the classroom to teach about the different insects and bugs that can be found in nature and how they help nature with their individual roles. Lessons can be focused on the ant, but can be furthered to other creatures, such as bees, spiders, etc and how they are made up, how they interact with the environment or how they live.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews