ABC Insects

by American Museum of Natural History

From egg-laying Aphids to the striped Zebra Longwing Butterfly, these colorful creatures will fascinate preschoolers. Developed together with experts at the American Museum of Natural History, ABC Insects introduces beetles, butterflies, flies, moths, and more, all straight from the famed museums displays. With its extra-large letters, eye-catching photos, and fun facts on every page, this board book is a sure kid pleaser!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction

18 pages, Board Book

First published September 2, 2014

Reviews

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE this Alphabet book- very developmentally appropriate with pictures and short explanations

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 3-year-old loves it. The design is superb (unobtrusively; I only noticed it when I got analyzing it on the 40th reading). The factoids are brief and satisfying. They're also easy to truncate AND easy to elaborate on.

He loves tracing the large letters -- they're big enough for little fingers. #finemotor #academicskillz He loves the colors. He enjoyed showing off to me as he matched the cover (back and front) insects to their letters inside. He now can talk about predators (a theme across many of the insects, though not belabored by def`i`NI`shun). I now regularly hear him mentioning that S is for stick insect.

I like it so much I'm going to see if I can find other books by the same creator; well done, American Museum of Natural History!

I love that it's still fresh enough on the 80th reading. I love that it features adult-phase insects only; it's a clear appreciation of the life-cycles particular to insects (where many books might have, say, c is for "caterpillar" and m is for "moth").

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I like the idea of bugs and alphabets put together, I'm not so fond of some of these choices. One bug is extinct, which leaves the reader with the job now of explaining what that means (which isn't a bad thing to do, but you can be a little broadsided). Others are terribly dangerous which isn't as clear as I would like. The kissing bug is NOT a bug to play with when you spot it, for example.

I would pair this book with a lesson about how we safely observe wildlife, WITHOUT TOUCHING. While there are some bugs that are a joy to handle (some caterpillars for example, they're marvelous to feel crawling over your hand) there definitely are others that will hurt you.

I do like the bright pictures, and the explanations which aren't too long for short attention spans. So there are some definite good points to this book. Just read with awareness.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice ABC book

[Kassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how big and colorful this book is. My students really enjoyed it.

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

An alphabet book from the American Museum of Natural History focusing on insects. Includes fun facts for each insect.

[Eva_Amaré · Rating 2 out of 5]

We are partial to the ABC's, but the insects were not our fave. The descriptions are probably suitable for a more mature audience, like the school going kind. We'll give this one another go when we're a little older. 🐛🐜🐞🐝🐜

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insect themed ABC book that would appeal to a wide age range. The over-sized letters are a great touch since they provide "perspective" for the insect photos and they really call out for kids to trace them. The facts provided are a good length for PreK and younger elementary kids but it's nice to be able to just read the insect names for infants and toddlers. The choice of insects allows for a number of jumping off points for further inquiry: bark beetles for forest fire management or climate change, stick insect for camouflage, kissing bugs for bugs that feed off humans, and the Xerces blue butterfly for extinct or endangered species.

[Bernadette Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book to assist in learning your ABC's!! Had no clue about Stick bugs that look like a real stick.... and red velvet ants that look like their weary a jazzy coat :) So long as the children are not grossed out by bugs, this is an excellent lesson on nature and science in addition to our foundational ABC's.

[Roben · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the idea but I think the actual descriptions of the bugs are aimed at an older audience than I had anticipated. The copy I borrowed from my library is a board book format but the content is more appropriate for 2nd grade and up, methinks. Great book just not quite what I was expecting.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I would have loved this book as a kid. It presents colorful photos of a variety of insects in an ABC format.

[Kian · Rating 5 out of 5]

We were sad the dung beetle wasn't among the ones mentioned, but a fascinating book!

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toddler, preschool, and school-age