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The Big Bug Book
Describes thirteen of the world's largest insects, including the birdwing butterfly and the Goliath beetle.
32 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1994
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 17, 2024
Honestly, when I first came across the book title The Big Bug Book (published in 1994) on Open Library, I (and naturally) assumed that Margery Facklam is presenting with The Big Bug Book a children's encyclopedia of insects (in other words a very big, a very large and all encompassing tome on bugs). But no, The Big Bug Book is actually not in any way an encyclopedia at all, but rather a picture book specifically concerning insects, specifically focussing on a selection bugs that have really huge sizes (well, at least for insects). And with and in The Big Bug Book, Margery Facklam therefore presents thirteen species of truly gigantic insects (Giant Water Bug, Praying Mantis, Atlas Moth, Goliath Beetle, Walking Stick, Longhorn Harlequin Beetle, Tarantula Hawk Wasp, Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, Birdwing Butterfly, Giant Wetapunga, Great Owlet Moth, Hercules Beetle, and finally Dragonfly).
And yes, the rather text heavy (but also simple, devoid of scientific jargon and thankfully also NEVER talking down to young readers and/or listeners) The Big Bug Book is absolutely teeming with a plethora of interesting and also fun to learn zoological, entomological facts, such as for example that while dragonflies are considered giant flying insects even today, before the advent of the dinosaurs, there were dragonflies with wings twenty-nine inches wide soaring through the skies, that the longest insect in the world is considered to be the Walking Stick, that the Giant Wetpunga (or Weta) of New Zealand’s is only found there and is considered to be very much a living fossil (as it has basically not changed for two hundred million years), that Birdwing Butterflies really do have huge and birdlike wings and that in Africa, Goliath Beetles are often kept as pets and that their larvae are considered a protein rich snack.
Accompanied by visually delightful and aesthetically amazing illustrations (rendered by the author’s son, Paul Facklam and showing the actual, the bona fide sizes of the featured giant insects), Margery Facklam's presented text for The Big Bug Book is solidly informational without ever having the tendency towards tedium (and that yes, the combination of text and images for The Big Bug Book is therefore totally successful and with the only reason why my rating is four and not five stars being the annoying and frustrating absence of a bibliography).
And yes, the rather text heavy (but also simple, devoid of scientific jargon and thankfully also NEVER talking down to young readers and/or listeners) The Big Bug Book is absolutely teeming with a plethora of interesting and also fun to learn zoological, entomological facts, such as for example that while dragonflies are considered giant flying insects even today, before the advent of the dinosaurs, there were dragonflies with wings twenty-nine inches wide soaring through the skies, that the longest insect in the world is considered to be the Walking Stick, that the Giant Wetpunga (or Weta) of New Zealand’s is only found there and is considered to be very much a living fossil (as it has basically not changed for two hundred million years), that Birdwing Butterflies really do have huge and birdlike wings and that in Africa, Goliath Beetles are often kept as pets and that their larvae are considered a protein rich snack.
Accompanied by visually delightful and aesthetically amazing illustrations (rendered by the author’s son, Paul Facklam and showing the actual, the bona fide sizes of the featured giant insects), Margery Facklam's presented text for The Big Bug Book is solidly informational without ever having the tendency towards tedium (and that yes, the combination of text and images for The Big Bug Book is therefore totally successful and with the only reason why my rating is four and not five stars being the annoying and frustrating absence of a bibliography).
July 29, 2016
Quite a hit with third-grade children. It is text heavy… It does not talk down to the kids and it is not made to be extra readable the way that some books are. However, the illustrations are fabulous and you learn much more interesting facts about bugs then another books. Either the reader needs to be proficient and interested in science, or it's a book for a parent and child to read together spending a long time on each bug. There's so much to learn and talk about!
March 23, 2012
the Big Bug Book would be ideal for a unit on insects. This book offers lengthy insights on several types of insects. The Big Bug Book would be great for intermediate grades doing projects on insects.
June 22, 2014
This is an excellent book for educators or naturalists. It is full of interesting facts about sensational bugs plus it has illustrations that show the actual size. We had fun reading it at home and would put in our nature library.
February 20, 2024
Over the years I collected non-fiction books on science subjects and The Big Bug Book was always a favorite with the children. It had great pictures of bugs from all over the world. It had a description and background on each bug and a glossary at the end.
I loved teaching the parts of a non-fiction book with The Big Bug Book to all ages of elementary children. It also diagramed the body parts of bugs so it offers a great resource to increase the vocabulary and understaning on bugs we wouldn't normally see and we maped them out on a world map to add a geography lesson too. It is a great educational tool.
I loved teaching the parts of a non-fiction book with The Big Bug Book to all ages of elementary children. It also diagramed the body parts of bugs so it offers a great resource to increase the vocabulary and understaning on bugs we wouldn't normally see and we maped them out on a world map to add a geography lesson too. It is a great educational tool.
June 18, 2016
A really cool book that I really enjoyed -- representations of actual sizes of these bugs and plenty of interesting information.
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April 28, 2019This book is about different kinds of bugs going from a walking stick to a butterfly. This book goes into detail about their prey, where you would find the bug(s), how it breathes..etc.
This book would be good to use in a kindergarten or first grade unit about different types of bugs. After reading the book, we can make our own bugs to have around our classroom. We can also go into metamorphism and have eggs or larva and watch them become adults and watch and record the growth of the bug. Another activity during this unit would be watching The Magic School Bus episode.
This book would be good to use in a kindergarten or first grade unit about different types of bugs. After reading the book, we can make our own bugs to have around our classroom. We can also go into metamorphism and have eggs or larva and watch them become adults and watch and record the growth of the bug. Another activity during this unit would be watching The Magic School Bus episode.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews