Insects are My Life

by Megan McDonald

Amanda Frankenstein's enthusiasm for insects annoys family and friends and definitely sets her apart, until she meets a girl named Maggie, who is crazy for reptiles

Genres: Picture Books, Realistic Fiction, Juvenile, Fiction, Childrens, School, Friendship

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

About the author

"Sometimes I think I am Judy Moody," says Megan McDonald, author of the Judy Moody series, the Stink series, and THE SISTERS CLUB. "I'm certainly moody, like she is. Judy has a strong voice and always speaks up for herself. I like that."

For Megan McDonald, being able to speak up for herself wasn't always easy. She grew up as the youngest of five sisters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father, an ironworker, was known to his coworkers as "Little Johnny the Storyteller." Every evening at dinner the McDonalds would gather to talk and tell stories, but Megan McDonald was barely able to get a word in edgewise. "I'm told I began to stutter," she says, leading her mother to give her a notebook so she could start "writing things down."


Critically acclaimed, the Judy Moody books have won numerous awards, ranging from a PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Book of the Year to an International Reading Association Children's Choice. "Judy has taken on a life of her own," the author notes, with nearly 3 million Judy Moody books in print. Interestingly, the feisty third-grader is highly popular with boys and girls, making for a strong base of fans who are among Megan McDonald's strongest incentives to keep writing, along with "too many ideas and a little chocolate." And now -- by popular demand -- Judy Moody's little brother, Stink, gets his chance to star in his own adventures! Beginning with STINK: THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING KID, three more stories, and his own encyclopedia, STINK-O-PEDIA, Stink's special style comes through loud and strong -- enhanced by a series of comic strips, drawn by Stink himself, which are sprinkled throughout the first book. About the need for a book all about Stink, Megan McDonald says, "Once, while I was visiting a class full of Judy Moody readers, the kids, many with spiked hair à la Judy's little brother, chanted, 'Stink! Stink! Stink! Stink! Stink!' as I entered the room. In that moment, I knew that Stink had to have a book all his own."


More recently, Megan McDonald has recalled some of her own childhood with the warmth, humor -- and squabbles -- of three spunky sisters in THE SISTERS CLUB.


Megan McDonald and her husband live in Sebastopol, California, with two dogs, two adopted horses, and fifteen wild turkeys that like to hang out on their back porch.

Reviews

[SaraKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Amanda's story. She is an insect fanatic and since she doesn't hide who she is, the other kids start calling her bug-girl and generally teasing her. She is confident in herself and knows that insects are her life so they don't bother her too much. She has some really good comebacks.

When someone called her four eyes. She replies, "They're compound eyes...like a wasp's" :)

While all the kids are pretend exploring looking for a bear, she secretly looks for a pretend bug.

She calls a rude classmate a "stinkbug on the leaf of life." I am totally going to steal this one. :) Amanda is my little hero. The end is wonderful and the breaking of gender stereotypes is one of my favorite parts of the book.

[Debi Cates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hanging on to this book until March when my littlest Little will be participating in the First Grade Read-A-Thon at her school where she'll have to do all the reading to an adult.

Note to self: Don't misplace these books.

[Aleece · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice book about how if someone likes something (e.g. insects, dinosaurs, trucks) they tend to know everything about the subject and collect everything they can about it. In the book Amanda loves bugs and when she starts school Victor begins to make fun of her and the two don’t get along so the teacher separates them and she finds a friend that loves everything reptiles.

While the illustrations are a little dated it is still a cute book about a girl that loves insects of all kinds and knows everything about them. It is also nice to see a female character like bugs. This book is very wordy though so it would not be great for the really young kids.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books shows how sometimes others don't appreciate your passion, but if you open yourself up, you might find others with a passion that you can share. Although Amanda was teased, she didn't give up on her love of insects but found a friend who can share her enthusiasm. This is a book that not only teaches about insects, but about how to treat others that are different or who act differently. Acceptance can be so difficult for some children but they need to embrace each other's differences. This message can't be said too much or too often!

[Albena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had forgotten about this beloved children's book until I found it today while volunteering in my children's school library. It was a favorite book of one on my boys who was obsessed with insects and was able to find a soul mate there.
Passions come and go, but good literature stays, and I really enjoyed re-reading the book. In it, I particularly like the fact that the insects-and reptiles loving characters are girls: a pleasant challenge to the assumptions that bugs and reptiles are boys' stuff only.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

"How would you like to live in a peanut butter jar? ... Bugs are people, too, you know."

Amanda Frankenstein: Friend of Bugs Amanda studies bugs and protects them as best she can. She even tries acting like bugs. When she grows up, she wants to study bugs. But sometimes Amanda takes her interest to extremes, especially at school.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amanda likes insects so much that she does everything she can to protect them. She collects dead ones and studies live ones. Amanda’s life is all about insects and she wants to be an entomologist when she grows up. This is a story about a little girl’s passion that could determine her life’s work, and she realizes other children have particular interests, too. Great illustrations.

[Kelley Mcalhany]

A story about a girl who loves insects, she tries to teach people about them but nobody seems to care until she meets someone just like her. Great book because the main character is a girl who likes bugs, so its breaking the sterotype.

[Sally Staples · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books to read about insects because as a child I loved to collect insects. The little girl in the story is obsessed with insects, but is is also her passion. Great story for little ones!!

[Chelsea Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is perfect for the child bug expert. Amanda Frankenstein has a strong passion for all things crawly, unfortunately, no one understands her love for insects. One day, Amanda meets a friend who also has a passion.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Longer text, not good for story time
No one at home or school understands Amanda Frankenstein's devotion to insects until she meets Maggie.

[Tina Mcconkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this picture book. I liked the science lesson this book subtlety tells.The pages are fill with facts and humor. I think this would be a great paired book non fiction book about insects.

[Julia Stevens]

I really like how this story breaks stereotypes by having a girl who loves insects. This would make a great addition to a lesson on bugs.

[Faith Cordes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be Amanda. Be Maggie. Victor is a jerk.