Bug Zoo

Walt Disney Animation Studios Artist Showcase

by Andy Harkness

Ben loves bugs: armored, teeny, leggy, greenie, floaty, wingy, jumpy, springy bugs! After a trip to the city zoo, Ben collects all of the bugs he can find and sets up a bug zoo. He couldn't be happier--but what about his bugs?
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Genres: Picture Books, Nature, Childrens, Storytime

40 pages, Hardcover

First published February 16, 2016

About the author

Andy Harkness attended the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio from 1991-1993 and was hired at Disney Feature Animation in 1994. He began his career as a clean-up animator on "Pocahontas", and after three years in clean-up, moved into the layout department. In 2004, he was hired as an Art Director at Sony Pictures Animation on "Open Season".

In 2006 Harkness moved back to Disney and worked as an Art Director and Visual Development artist on many films. His first children's book, BUG ZOO was published in 2016. He currently works as a visual development artist at Sony Pictures Animation.

Reviews

[Stephanie (Reading is Better With Cupcakes) · Rating 4 out of 5]

By now I bet you are wondering what this book is about. Well, it is about a boy who loves bugs! He loves them so much, he wants to be able to share them with everyone else. After a bit of thought he decided that he would start a bug zoo so that others could come visit and see all of the cool bugs!

Unfortunately, he discovers that the bugs aren't doing too well in their jars. This causes him to try out a few different ideas of how he can help out his bugs.

In the end, I thought it was a pretty cute story. My husband also happened to be in the room when I read it to my Bug and he said that he enjoyed it as well. I would ask my daughter her opinion, but she is only barely just 1 year old and doesn't have words yet!

The art work in this book though, it is top notch. It is very bright and vibrant - very pleasant to look at. Very very well done!

With the pictures and the story, you will have a lot to talk about while reading through the story and afterwards. This is a great addition to your storytime library, especially if you have a bug lover!

This review is based on a copy provided by Irish Banana Blog Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review

Find more of my reviews here:
http://readingwithcupcakes.blogspot.com/

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So we got my son (age 3 1/2) several books on Friday, and he's obsessed with this one. He "reads" it to himself repeatedly throughout the day, then wants it read to him as a bedtime story at night—and I don't mind at all, because I like it too.

The illustrations are beautiful, and it's a cute story. The little boy loves bugs, so he captures them and keeps them in jars. He releases the bugs in the end—thank goodness! I know my son has been trying to build a bug zoo of his own in our home, which is rather disgusting. Now thanks to this book, he leaves the bugs free, in the great outdoors where they belong.

We spent the past 10 months in Portland, reading books in the gigantic children's section of Powell's every week, and this is the best book I've found all year.

[Veronica Torres · Rating 4 out of 5]

STORYTIME BOOK: kids thought it was a fun story and liked seeing the bugs in the jars

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little boy decides to create a zoo full of jars of different insects to show their varied forms and colors. But as time passes he begins to realize that though the idea of sharing his love of bugs is great, keeping them in jars may not be best for the insects themselves. A great book about learning to let your love of nature grow as wild as nature itself. The Disney presentation gives this book a special touch that makes this a great gift for any child who loves being outdoors and learning.

[Rachel Crowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book talks about a little boy who LOVED bugs. He went to the zoo one day with his parents and decided that he wanted to have a bug farm for himself. He then proceeded to catch a lot of bugs and put them in jars. He was now open for business but no-one came. The next day came around and he thought that the bugs needed to eat so he fed ALL of the bugs leaves and what every they liked. Still no-one had came. He was walking around one day and saw a moth and man was it beautiful! He caught the moth but then he noticed that the jar was too small for it and it looked sad. He let the moth go as well as the other bugs. He will always love them but he wanted them to be free. He decided to use his jars for honey instead (:

[Sunah Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben, a boy who loves bugs, collects bugs in jars, and it’s called as bug zoo. He is so happy to have them. However, he realizes that the bugs are not as happy as he is. Many children have experienced collecting bugs in various ways. The children would soon acknowledge that the bugs' habitats belong to nature, not in a jar or a glass box. Text structures and vocabulary in this book are easy to read for young children. The Illustrations are impressive. The whole artistic work is based on clay arts. Embossed surfaces with textures provide effects of vivid illustrations of nature and the bugs. I am so glad to read a book with artistic efforts to deliver the mood of the story.

[Kelsey Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a young boy named Ben that loves bugs so much. He loved them so much he wanted to make his own bug zoo. No matter what he did, no one would come see his bug zoo. He realized he loved them so much but he loves them more when they are in the wild so he set them free. This is a great book for young kids that also love animals because it teaches them that most species are best left alone in the wild for us to admire from afar because we don't want to hurt or disrupt them. This book would have been a great book for me to read when I was young because I also loved bugs and animals and always wanted to keep them for myself. I learned the hard way that bugs belong outside in the wild when my collection of ants got set free in my house and we became infested with ants everywhere !

[Devin Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book a lot. This is an excellent book for young children and has amazing illustrations to go along with the story. Each page has a bunch of illustrations that will keep children engaged. The biggest theme I took from this story is no matter how much you love something you have to be willing to let them go. In the story the young boy loves capturing bugs and keeping them as kind of his own little zoo. Once he realizes he has to let them be free and learns to love them from a distance. If you are a teacher this is an excellent book that will keep your class engaged and also have a great meaning behind this story.

[StoryTimeReadAloud · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy enjoys bugs so much, he collects insects and puts them in jars. He sets up a zoo for people to come visit them--but nobody does. He adds a luna moth to his collection and sees it cramped in a jar and releases it and all the other insects, enjoying them out in nature instead.

As a kid who collected rocks and was sure I could sell them like lemonade on the side of the road, I related to this story of an unappreciated collection. I like that the story celebrates this boy's interests, his learning, and the world around him. Great story to inspire observing, learning, being in touch with nature, etc.

I thought the illustrations were bright and eye-catching. Enjoyed very much.

[Nicolina Circella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is able to obtain and keep the attention of children of all ages. The pictures are very well executed and as the reader, you learn something new from the pictures each time you read. The story is simple but is still worth the read. There are many talking points that you could pull out of the book to enhance reading comprehension at such a young age. This book is really well put together and always leaves the reader wanting to come back for more. Very appropriate read for early childhood children.

[Krista Ginnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is about a little boy named Ben who loves bugs. He discovers his love for bugs after a trip to the city zoo. He collects all the bugs he can find to start his own bug zoo he wants everyone to come visit and see his bugs. His bugs vary in size, and color. However, Ben discovers the bugs aren't doing well, and realizes he needs to do something different to help the bugs. This books illustrations are cute it is a very simple read. I can only imagine how many little boys wanted to collect bugs when they were young.

[Mikayla Busse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story. A little boy named Ben went to a zoo and was so intrigued by the insects. He concludes that he is going to catch a lot of bugs and make his own bug zoo. However, Ben runs into conflict. He discovers that the bugs are so much happier when they are free in the wild and not trapped in a zoo. He sets them free. I think this is a good story when teaching kids about sincerity and sensitivity to people and creatures.

[Emily Metheny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a great book to use during lesson plan about describing objects and using adjectives. Also, about teaching the importance of looking at nature, but not touching it. We get to learn about the "teeny, leggy, greenie bugs" that Ben finds on his trip to the zoo. He decides to make his own zoo with the various bugs found! But, what about the bugs? Do they love Ben as much as he loves them? Do they like being trapped in one spot? Read and find out what happens in this adventurous book!

[Morgan Czopur · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a bug lover, this book is for you! This book is about a boy who loves...BUGS! The illustrations in this book are incredible and will catch children's attention in a heartbeat. Ben wants to share his bugs with everyone else, so he decides to start a bug zoo. After realizing that his bugs aren't safe and doing well in the jars that he keeps them in, he lets them go. This book is a wonderful book for children who love bugs, but who also love seeing bugs be free.

[Lea Fabrizzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bug Zoo by Andy Harkness is a children's picture book that helps tell a great story about a young boy who after attending a trip to the city zoo, wants to create his own bug zoo. As simple and sweet as the story can be, it teaches a great lesson about freedom and happiness. The boy in the story realizes the bugs in his "zoo" aren't quite happy in the mason jars. The pictures throughout the story help teach this great lesson which makes it a great picture book for young readers. -Lea Fabrizzi

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the message about enjoying bugs in nature rather than in jars (or pinning).

Miss 3 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[Abigail Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This nature friendly Childrens book is about a boy ands love for bugs. Andy, the main character loves bugs, he loves them so much that he collects them in jars and creates his own "zoo". This Zoo makes him so happy, but that can't be said for the bugs. The used to have the entire earth to live, and now they live in small jars, is that fair? This books discusses exactly that!

[Klarissa Fox]

This book was very unique and had very interesting pictures that captured your attention and than you paid attention to the words. The pictures were very detailed and helped the children realize that they should try whatever they want but sometimes it does not work out and that it is okay, as long as we never give up and keep trying.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bug Zoo
by Andy Harkness
Used to add to the lessons of a kindergarten class. The book was selected to give the students another story about nature. The young boy collects all the bugs he loves. He wants to share his love of bugs with his friends and neighbors, when no one pays attention he lets the bugs go free, and attempts to sell honey.

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book for the illustrations because the front cover is very fun. They were beautiful and intriguing illustrations. The story was pretty good too. A nice book about treating bugs respectfully

[Josh Bader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brings you back to the field trip days. Going out of town to a different city maybe for the first time. Brings you into the book. It feels like you on a journey as he goes to a field trips and falls in love with a new hobby.

[Ryo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a boy who loves bugs. He shares the bugs with many people. Since he wants more people to come to see the bugs, he opened a zoo of the bugs. For the illustration, I really liked the texture of them. It seems like 3D, not 2D. So I am sure the readers can enjoy this book.

[Twos Bothell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book that explores the bug world through the eyes of a child collector. Ends with letting the bugs be free, but still enjoying them, which is admirable. Lots of new vocabulary to describe the bugs as well as identifying some of them.

[Winnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations were beautiful and bright. A cute story

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ben goes to the zoo and decides to create his own bug zoo. It's not a success and he learns to let things be free in their own environment. Cute ending.

[NayDoubleU · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved the theme of this book. Will definitely be in my classroom and it was kind nice to see a different style of art used (claymation)

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, colorful, and adorable!

[JoLynn Richmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for a beginner reader!

[Emily Carlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the realistic look of these illustrations, like they are carved out of dough! Would be fun to read this and then use play-doh to carve and create.

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Standard story of letting go of something you love. I did like the art. The main thing that bothered me was: where did he get all that honey? And 25 cents for a large jar?! What a steal.