Bugs: What Do Bees, Ants, and Dragonflies Get up to All Day?

A Day in the Life

by Jessica L. Ware, Chaaya Prabhat (Illustrations)

Set over a 24-hour period, meet busy honey bees, transforming caterpillars, and an army of leafcutter ants in this kids’ nonfiction book about the coolest insects on Earth.

Follow the lives of individual bugs as they fly, hunt, hide, and scuttle their way through their day.

Genres: Childrens, Nature

48 pages, Hardcover

Published April 5, 2022

About the author

Dr. Jessica L. Ware is an insect expert who works at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Her work focuses on how insects evolved over time—particularly dragonflies, damselflies, termites, cockroaches, and mantises! She is the current president of the Worldwide Dragonfly Association, and serves as Vice President of the Entomological Society of America. Dr. Ware has been awarded a presidential award from the US government for her work on insect evolution.

Reviews

[Jay G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*

3.5/5 Stars

An informational picture book set over a 24-hour time period all about BUGS!

I picked this book up for work at a before and after school program who currently can't get enough of anything related to bugs. My kindergarteners loved the bright colours of the bugs and how they seemed to jump off the pages in contrast to the dark backgrounds they are on. After reading this to the group, they were able to recite the facts back to me, which was a lot of fun.

[Jacob Schmitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another illustrative nonfiction work that will pop off the shelf. I believe there are three "A Day in the Life" books in this series, and I'm really hoping more will get published. This title follows bugs, which covers everything from bees to beetles; and includes interim pages with hitchhikers, super swimmers, and city bugs. The progression throughout the day provides a nice cadence. There is a good balance of general and fascinating facts. Chaaya Prabhat use of colors in the digital media is vibrant and appealing. One critique is the copy and paste of the small critters for it is very evident that the same bug is copied over and over again with no variation. Additionally, Prabhat could use more contrast with the bugs to make their movement and behavior easier to evince, for they often get blended in with the background. This wasn't as big of an issue with the Big Cats book, presumably because the characters were larger subjects and didn't need to be as detailed.

[Julianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most enthralling nonfiction we ever read. It's actually really long, but I was surprised the kids were captivated the whole time. It's getting reread a lot!

Honestly I just force some nonfiction into the mix at bedtime, hoping we can slog through it between cute fluff stuff. But this Masterpiece is suddenly a favorite, from breakfast to breaks to bedtime. The author's passion for the bug world and the lovely art really turn facts into stories. I don't know what it is about this, but it's real life magic in our household.

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a really cool concept that is executed very well. We follow different insects throughout a 24 hour period. Illustrations are nice as well.

[Wednesday · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the illustrations! It is easy to read too