Bugs!

by David T. Greenberg, Lynn Munsinger (Illustrator)

Celebrates the disgusting and horrible things you can do with a bunch of bugs

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Poetry, Humor, Animals, Nonfiction, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1997

Reviews

[J.C. Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining. This book is funny throughout and I'm no fan of rhyming books. However, Mr. Greenberg's gently twisted sense of humor and clever rhymes won me over.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember this book from a long ago summer reading theme and I cannot believe that I never took the time to read it. Considering its crazy grossness maybe I should have reconsidered. Actual bugs don't gross me out, but I grew up with trash cans before garbage bags and maggots gross me out. If only there weren't also so many of them.
Definitely a boy's gross out book .

[Pug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly gross-out humor! Very clever rhymes and illustrations (e.g. the scorpion reading "Bugue" by the pool!). My stomach turned a couple of times, pretty much at any mention of maggots, so it was certainly effective! A great sequel to "Slugs."

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The many uses of bugs are explored: a bracelet made of butterflies, a beetle for a brooch ... including all the ways you can eat them.

[Elijah Pearse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like when the stink bugs were ground up on the salads

[Hannah Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite book but if you like bugs it may be for you.

[Dominique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting!

[Kami Mauldin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fun rhythms, but so gross! 🤢

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super silly. Kinda gross. Giggling kiddos demanded I read it again as soon as I finished.

[Sarah Nottingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bugs by David T. Greenberg is a narrative nonsense poem, that is all about bugs, and how they "could" be put to use in creative ways. "Incandescent fireflies, Dragonflies, and bees String them together to light a Christmas tree." The book is entertaining and looks at bugs in a fresh, imaginary way. The author uses personification for the poem to bring bugs to life and set them in hilarious situations to entertain the reader. "A scorpion in a string bikini, A tick wearing only a hat, A tuxedo on a teeny-weeny itsy-bitsy gnat." The poem uses vivid imagery, allowing the reader to sense the bugs with sight, taste, and sound; the fat ones sometimes squirt. The alliteration of the poem carries the reader through the poem smoothly, allowing musical qualities. Another element that enhances the poem is figurative language; Rare beyond compare is caterpillar hair, take a tweezers, yank it, weave yourself a blanket. The poem compares bugs to tons of unrelated objects. I think this book would be a great book to incorporate into a lesson plan over poetry for second or third-grade students. The poem and illustrations work together to create a very entertaining book for children. As a teacher, you could also incorporate this book into a lesson plan about books, to teach students about different types of bugs. Overall I enjoyed the book and found it fostered imagination and creativity for children.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creative way to change perspectives about slimy, oozy creatures! David Greenberg does a nice job of weaving in advanced vocabulary as he presents some creative alternatives for the use of bugs. The illustrations in this book are fabulous too!

David just visited CAG and Maya for presentations with the students, and he was a HIT! I highly recommend him as a Visiting Author, as he has material that spans just about all levels of school-aged kiddos and is a talented speaker. He has written a few collections of writing activities for teachers, and he also gives fast-paced workshops for educators about developing student writing.

[Audrey Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Students intrigued by various insects or bugs may receive little opportunity to learn about them in a concrete manner. Rather than looking at complicated encyclopedias, students may understand various characteristics of many different kinds of bugs in an interesting way. Bugs! contains free verse poetry for each bug/insect discussing each with an interesting spin on the bug's unique characteristics.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is ridiculously disgusting like Skunks (same author). At first you're thinking, What a bunch of nonsense! and it makes your stomach churn a little. But it improves with each subsequent read: the rhyming can be clever (with a few puns thrown in) and pretty soon it's just downright amusing.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This long poem is irreverent and witty. The poem details bizarre suggestions for the use of the bugs, such as caterpillar hair blankets and millipede dental floss. Young readers will be delighted by the repulsiveness of the suggestions. The watercolor drawings are whimsical and capture the humor of the poem.

[Danelle Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be appropriate for grades k-4th. It has very colorful pictures and some rhyming attributes. It could possibly be used learning different insects, a creative writing about things that are gross, or simply a book for story time. This is a very fun and icky book.

[Amber Basinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Students will laughs and giggle through this funny poem about bugs! Bugs will captivate boys as they read about different creepy crawling creatures. The book is perfect for children with rhyming phrases and humor.

[Jennifer Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could be very educational for students. A lesson could be taught after reading this book about different kinds of insects. The vocabulary in this book is great and students could learn from it.

[Lindsee Colglazier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always hated bugs, so this book kind of creeped me out. This book did teach me lots of different types of bugs and could be a great way for teachers to teach students the concept of bugs and tie it into a lesson plan about bugs.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun book with great pictures!

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really fun, playful book on bugs from a different perspective and perfect for little boys! (In the end the bugs even have a 'human being' collection)

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

So wrong on so many levels. Gave both my kids an irrational of fear of bugs with one reading.

[Elizabeth Bae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to introduce insects.

[Christine Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Celebrates the disgusting and horrible things you can do with a bunch of bugs. www.hcpl.net

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun, active book. Lots of humor, fun rhymes, a little of the gross-out factor. Would be a fun read-aloud for elementary kids.

[Ted Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because of its feature like labeled body parts, lifecycles and important facts about bugs that related to common core standards. My students would enjoy reading this book.

[Mariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a sing-song rhythm and lots of grossness which will please most pre-schoolers and early elementary students, especially boys.

[Alyse Liebovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me a bit squeamish (even though I love bugs), but I still liked it, especially the last page.

[April Biederman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gross! I didn't like the gross story line. My daughter liked the pictures because she really likes bug so that is the one star.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The world of bugs as described in verse and rhyme. Many types of bugs are mentioned in this fun, yet creepy look at the world in which we share with them.

[Charlie Thacker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like when he's trying to eat the bug and it squirts all over!