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The Bug Scientists
—A National Science Teachers Association-Children's Book Council Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children
Small is beautiful—or so the bug scientists of the world believe. Insects, they say, boast qualities the rest of us have perhaps overlooked. They are among the earth’s best fliers and farmers. They have survived and adapted for 350 million years, whereas we humans have been around for a mere 10,000 years. There are millions upon millions of species yet to be identified. Indeed, insects are perhaps nature’s least celebrated but most successful creatures on earth.
By following the footsteps of several bug scientists, we take a closer look at the extraordinary bugs that crawl, swim, and whiz past us. We visit the morgue, drop by an outdoor classroom, witness a bug bowl festival—complete with a cricket-spitting contest (yuck!)—and travel to the rain forests of Costa Rica—all in pursuit of a better understanding of bugs, glorious bugs.
Small is beautiful—or so the bug scientists of the world believe. Insects, they say, boast qualities the rest of us have perhaps overlooked. They are among the earth’s best fliers and farmers. They have survived and adapted for 350 million years, whereas we humans have been around for a mere 10,000 years. There are millions upon millions of species yet to be identified. Indeed, insects are perhaps nature’s least celebrated but most successful creatures on earth.
By following the footsteps of several bug scientists, we take a closer look at the extraordinary bugs that crawl, swim, and whiz past us. We visit the morgue, drop by an outdoor classroom, witness a bug bowl festival—complete with a cricket-spitting contest (yuck!)—and travel to the rain forests of Costa Rica—all in pursuit of a better understanding of bugs, glorious bugs.
- GenresNonfictionScience
48 pages, Paperback
First published March 26, 2002
1 person is currently reading
51 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 15, 2017
Positive, Unique, Informative
November 29, 2011
1. { Genre }: Junior > Science Fiction
2. { Summary }: Take the “ug” out of “bugs”. Bugs are everywhere and as slimy and icky as they look, they help keep our earth alive and well. Through pollination, solving crimes and providing process to product, we benefit more by making bugs our friends rather than foes.
3a. { Area for comment }: Style
3b. { Critique }: This title doesn’t make me want to hug bugs, but it makes me appreciate their existence. I want to think twice before I swat a bee or stomp on a spider.
3c. { Critique Example }: I was entirely engaged and it wasn’t due to the detailed photographs. Although the images helped, it was the information that brought me to the conclusion that I not only felt more educated, but also a little guilty! Looks can be deceiving is probably one theme that I would take away from this title. But on a more serious note, I truly appreciated the titles incorporation of the different “characters”/”chapters”. It was nice to see the different ways in which bugs are studied and incorporated in our world today. There is no better way to do that then to introduce those methods with the bug masters - Professor Tom Turpin, Valeria Cervenka and Ted Schultz. Choosing to express this title with real pictures is the key to making the information real and relatable. Although a little grossed-out, I found the images appropriate. It’s the best way to communicate the message that the author, Donna M. Jackson, is trying to send - “...insects seem like alien creatures, but in fact we’re the aliens”. Size does not always determine the dominance in life form. Apparently, some of us got that wrong along the way...
{ Curriculum Connection }:
This title would be great for any science class studying insects and different life forms. I remember, from a very young age, learning to kill bugs upon identification. Prior reading this book, I never thought twice about killing an insect. Teaching students that every life form has a purpose can change the way students look at life and appearance. Seeing something gross can always lead to negative thoughts, but books like these could possibly change the way children view not only insects, but people as well.
December 3, 2011
1.This is a junior book, informational.
2.The Bug Scientists follows three entomologists and how their love of the bug and insect world allow them to have three very different careers, a college professor, a forensic entomologist and a research entomologist at the Smithsonian.
3.A. Readers will be introduced to a world of bugs that is commonly an unknown one by many. Donna Jackson takes tidbit information, knowledge from leaders of the entomology world and turns it into fun-filled pages that readers will be intrigued by. Her close-up photographs, easy to navigate pages with subtitles and added pages of bug facts all lend this book to be bug-a-rific.
B. The best aspect of this book is that it helps the reader respect the bug world. Jackson uses beautiful photographs to accompany her book filled of facts, interviews and interesting tidbits that we normally would never have known. She also relates it to the real world. So often, a scientific field is an entity all its own but Donna Jackson shows that there are three well respected careers that can be fulfilled by being an insect lover.
C. Jackson begins her informational book about bugs and insects with the most eccentric of the scientists, Dr. Turpin, that created the ‘Bug Bowl’ and the dead cricket spitting contest that attracts tons of observers every year! This helps grab the reader’s attention and allows them to know a bug world bigger than ever thought possible. The photographs throughout the book are labeled, captioned well and accompany the correct text on the page. For example, on page 15 there is an example of a survival technique, camouflage, by a walking stick. On page 21, the photograph depicts an amazing sight of a tree full of Monarch butterflies in their winter homes. And, on page 45, the photograph shows an example of a huge ant colony in Australia. Did you know that certain types of ants actually make their own food??
Curriculum Connection- Students from elementary to middle school will find this book useful when studying bugs, certain types of scientific fields or careers in science. Teachers can use the photographs to have students learn from everything from parts of an insect to how they live and grow.
2.The Bug Scientists follows three entomologists and how their love of the bug and insect world allow them to have three very different careers, a college professor, a forensic entomologist and a research entomologist at the Smithsonian.
3.A. Readers will be introduced to a world of bugs that is commonly an unknown one by many. Donna Jackson takes tidbit information, knowledge from leaders of the entomology world and turns it into fun-filled pages that readers will be intrigued by. Her close-up photographs, easy to navigate pages with subtitles and added pages of bug facts all lend this book to be bug-a-rific.
B. The best aspect of this book is that it helps the reader respect the bug world. Jackson uses beautiful photographs to accompany her book filled of facts, interviews and interesting tidbits that we normally would never have known. She also relates it to the real world. So often, a scientific field is an entity all its own but Donna Jackson shows that there are three well respected careers that can be fulfilled by being an insect lover.
C. Jackson begins her informational book about bugs and insects with the most eccentric of the scientists, Dr. Turpin, that created the ‘Bug Bowl’ and the dead cricket spitting contest that attracts tons of observers every year! This helps grab the reader’s attention and allows them to know a bug world bigger than ever thought possible. The photographs throughout the book are labeled, captioned well and accompany the correct text on the page. For example, on page 15 there is an example of a survival technique, camouflage, by a walking stick. On page 21, the photograph depicts an amazing sight of a tree full of Monarch butterflies in their winter homes. And, on page 45, the photograph shows an example of a huge ant colony in Australia. Did you know that certain types of ants actually make their own food??
Curriculum Connection- Students from elementary to middle school will find this book useful when studying bugs, certain types of scientific fields or careers in science. Teachers can use the photographs to have students learn from everything from parts of an insect to how they live and grow.
December 8, 2011
Genre: Junior book—Informational
Summary: Scientists show their love for bugs and insects as they explore and tell readers ways bugs and insects are very important to us. They believe bugs are overlooked but are the most successful creatures on Earth.
Critique:
a. The greatest strength in this book is pictures and pictures captions.
b. The pictures are amazing and also “up close and personal.” We see many bugs and insects up close and are able to examine their features in which we do not get to do often. Also, the pictures are provided with captions that better explain the picture. Some of these captions are letting readers know what type of bug/insect they are looking out while others give interesting facts.
c. Each picture in this book is very interesting and gets my attention. As I am not a bug or insect lover, I found myself pulling away from many pictures. A picture that really caught my attention was the one with students surrounding the Cockroach race at “Roachhill Downs” (pg. 2). This was very interesting as the cockroaches even have their own racetrack. I found that an even more interesting is the picture of the guy spitting a dead cricket in the cricket-spitting contest (pg.2). This is a contest I would say, “I’ll believe it when I see it,” but that picture takes care of it. Also, these pictures showed interesting captions such as the caption about the dung beetles (pg. 11). If that caption would not have been provided for readers, I probably would not have known what I was looking at. Not only does the caption let readers know what the bug is, it tells us an interesting fact about how they lay eggs.
Curriculum Connection:
Of course, this book can be tied into a lesson on bugs and insects. This will give the students the full effect of certain bugs such as those used at crime scenes. Students could even act as crime solvers by making their own bugs and solving crimes.
Summary: Scientists show their love for bugs and insects as they explore and tell readers ways bugs and insects are very important to us. They believe bugs are overlooked but are the most successful creatures on Earth.
Critique:
a. The greatest strength in this book is pictures and pictures captions.
b. The pictures are amazing and also “up close and personal.” We see many bugs and insects up close and are able to examine their features in which we do not get to do often. Also, the pictures are provided with captions that better explain the picture. Some of these captions are letting readers know what type of bug/insect they are looking out while others give interesting facts.
c. Each picture in this book is very interesting and gets my attention. As I am not a bug or insect lover, I found myself pulling away from many pictures. A picture that really caught my attention was the one with students surrounding the Cockroach race at “Roachhill Downs” (pg. 2). This was very interesting as the cockroaches even have their own racetrack. I found that an even more interesting is the picture of the guy spitting a dead cricket in the cricket-spitting contest (pg.2). This is a contest I would say, “I’ll believe it when I see it,” but that picture takes care of it. Also, these pictures showed interesting captions such as the caption about the dung beetles (pg. 11). If that caption would not have been provided for readers, I probably would not have known what I was looking at. Not only does the caption let readers know what the bug is, it tells us an interesting fact about how they lay eggs.
Curriculum Connection:
Of course, this book can be tied into a lesson on bugs and insects. This will give the students the full effect of certain bugs such as those used at crime scenes. Students could even act as crime solvers by making their own bugs and solving crimes.
December 9, 2011
1. Junior Book, Informational
2. You will never think of bugs the same way after reading the numerous ways they impact, help, and are a part of our lives every day. Etymologists give us a better view of all sorts of creepy crawling creatures, some we see often, others that are exotic, and we learn how they live and thrive as well as what they mean for human existence.
3. Critique:
a. One of the many strengths this book has is the layout.
b. The book is definitely geared for young readers and the splashy pictures, short-phrased fact boxes, and “up close and personal” viewing is perfect for this age group. There are little known facts and new information on every page but not in the form of lengthy, monotonous paragraphs. Instead, this book uses smaller spurts of information via captions that relate to pictures. This makes it more of an “easy read” for this age, even though the content is not necessarily light.
c. This book packs so much information between the two covers but still presents it in a fun and organized way. The different areas that they cover across the globe give the reader a chance to experience the world of bugs in a new and novel way-this really is as close as you can get without them being in your lap-Yuck! Without this book, no one would ever believe there were cricket-spitting contests going on and roaches who had Hollywood agents. There is a whole world of bugs out there that we had no idea about!
4. There are science units that this book would align to for science standards, but the book brings up so many new points about insects that connections can be made elsewhere as well. Now that we know how bugs can aid criminologists in solving crimes, the students could write stories about a mystery involving a crime and use the bugs in it as context clues to help the reader figure out the crime. This aligns with language arts standards as well. There are many geographical connections that the teacher can make with this book as well.
2. You will never think of bugs the same way after reading the numerous ways they impact, help, and are a part of our lives every day. Etymologists give us a better view of all sorts of creepy crawling creatures, some we see often, others that are exotic, and we learn how they live and thrive as well as what they mean for human existence.
3. Critique:
a. One of the many strengths this book has is the layout.
b. The book is definitely geared for young readers and the splashy pictures, short-phrased fact boxes, and “up close and personal” viewing is perfect for this age group. There are little known facts and new information on every page but not in the form of lengthy, monotonous paragraphs. Instead, this book uses smaller spurts of information via captions that relate to pictures. This makes it more of an “easy read” for this age, even though the content is not necessarily light.
c. This book packs so much information between the two covers but still presents it in a fun and organized way. The different areas that they cover across the globe give the reader a chance to experience the world of bugs in a new and novel way-this really is as close as you can get without them being in your lap-Yuck! Without this book, no one would ever believe there were cricket-spitting contests going on and roaches who had Hollywood agents. There is a whole world of bugs out there that we had no idea about!
4. There are science units that this book would align to for science standards, but the book brings up so many new points about insects that connections can be made elsewhere as well. Now that we know how bugs can aid criminologists in solving crimes, the students could write stories about a mystery involving a crime and use the bugs in it as context clues to help the reader figure out the crime. This aligns with language arts standards as well. There are many geographical connections that the teacher can make with this book as well.
December 3, 2011
Citation: The Bug Scientists, written by Donna Jackson (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002)
1. Genre: Junior Book/ Informational
2. Summary: The Bug Scientists, is a wonderful book filled to the brim with information about BUGS and the scientists who love them!!!
3. Critique:
a. The strength of this story is the author’s ability to deliver the content in a way that captivates the reader in a subject that they may or may not have been interested in prior to picking the book up.
b. Through the author’s use of fascinating anecdotal accounts of the experiences of the scientists, obscure facts about the subject matter and her use of exquisite photographs, the reader is enthralled by the book’s topic.
c. Each page is filled with examples of this. On page 22, the reader is introduced to Valerie Cervenka, a forensic entomologist, who helps to solve crimes through her analysis of flies and their larva, which encompass the body and help establish a timeline for the person’s death. The details and facts the author included compel the reader to want to turn the page to continue learning!
4. Curriculum Connection: This would be a fabulous story to use in a middle school or older elementary school classroom. Boys, who are statistically more difficult to engage in reading, would be completely drawn in by the subject matter as a result of the author’s method of delivery. I would use this book to captivate a struggling “boy” reader, or as a classroom hook into the study of insects.
December 5, 2011
Genre: Informational
Summary: This title gives you a look into the interesting life of a bug. The book explores bugs, both large and small, from grubs and ants to giant cockroaches and tarantulas. As you travel through the world of bugs with the bug scientist you will learn about how bugs live, travel, eat and above all survive though the years.
Critique:
a. The pictures
b. The pictures in the book, as in many of the other scientists in the field, are outstanding. They have vibrant colors and interesting detail, ensuring that the reader will continue to turn the page. They truly make an informational book fun.
c. On one of the first pages of the book one of the pictures shows a boy participating in a cricket-spitting contest. The picture is interesting and makes you cringe all at the same time, but makes you want to read and see more.
Curriculum Connection: This book can most definitely be related to both the language arts and science curriculum areas. It provides a create connection between the two in which students can use language arts to learn more about an area of science.
Summary: This title gives you a look into the interesting life of a bug. The book explores bugs, both large and small, from grubs and ants to giant cockroaches and tarantulas. As you travel through the world of bugs with the bug scientist you will learn about how bugs live, travel, eat and above all survive though the years.
Critique:
a. The pictures
b. The pictures in the book, as in many of the other scientists in the field, are outstanding. They have vibrant colors and interesting detail, ensuring that the reader will continue to turn the page. They truly make an informational book fun.
c. On one of the first pages of the book one of the pictures shows a boy participating in a cricket-spitting contest. The picture is interesting and makes you cringe all at the same time, but makes you want to read and see more.
Curriculum Connection: This book can most definitely be related to both the language arts and science curriculum areas. It provides a create connection between the two in which students can use language arts to learn more about an area of science.
December 3, 2011
Citation: The Bug Scientists, Donna M. Jackson, Houghton Mifflin, 2002, 46p. Junior Book/ Nonfiction
Genre: Nonfiction-Scientist in the Field series
Summary: This book highlights entomologists (insect scientists) Professor Tom Turpin, Crime Investigator Valerie Cervenka, Bug Director Steven Kutcher, and Smithsonian Researcher Ted Schultz alongside the bugs they love.
Critique: a. What I like about this book is that it was an easy read. I like the way the author’s voice and style came through to make the facts palatable.
b. The author’s whimsical tone and play on words make this selection especially pleasant.
c. This can be seen readily in the text headings and subheadings throughout the book. One of my favorites is “Murder, She Buzzed” which is used on page 23 to introduce the blow fly and its importance to crime solving.
Curriculum Connection: Other than science classes, I think this book could be used with grades 4-8 curriculum about jobs and careers.
Genre: Nonfiction-Scientist in the Field series
Summary: This book highlights entomologists (insect scientists) Professor Tom Turpin, Crime Investigator Valerie Cervenka, Bug Director Steven Kutcher, and Smithsonian Researcher Ted Schultz alongside the bugs they love.
Critique: a. What I like about this book is that it was an easy read. I like the way the author’s voice and style came through to make the facts palatable.
b. The author’s whimsical tone and play on words make this selection especially pleasant.
c. This can be seen readily in the text headings and subheadings throughout the book. One of my favorites is “Murder, She Buzzed” which is used on page 23 to introduce the blow fly and its importance to crime solving.
Curriculum Connection: Other than science classes, I think this book could be used with grades 4-8 curriculum about jobs and careers.
September 14, 2014
I wanna freaking read this dern book ok ok is that ok I just wanna make this freaking clear OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY? okay alright that's what I sighned up for so I can help a friend on her project you little mother flippers .
October 12, 2011
Awesomely gross, and pretty darn cool. Did you know that some ants have pets? It's true. Crazy.
April 24, 2015
This book would be very good for those who are interested in the small and detailed creatures in our world such as insects.
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April 26, 2016insect exploration, fascinating, non-fiction
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews