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Strange and Wonderful
Cicadas!: Strange and Wonderful
"Definitely the best cicada book for kids. Adults will appreciate it as well, as it is well written, factually accurate, and beautifully illustrated." —Cicadamania.com
Discover why cicadas are all the buzz in the most complete, comprehensive book for kids about these noisy but harmless insects.
Every year, annual cicadas emerge and pierce the air with their buzzing calls. Also every year, at least one brood of 13 or 17 year cicadas emerges in some part of the eastern or central United States. In Spring 2021, a group of 17 year periodical cicadas called Brood X will make their appearance in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Author Laurence Pringle and illustrator Meryl Henderson have created the story of this fascinating and often misunderstood insect, one that deserves to be protected.
Discover why cicadas are all the buzz in the most complete, comprehensive book for kids about these noisy but harmless insects.
Every year, annual cicadas emerge and pierce the air with their buzzing calls. Also every year, at least one brood of 13 or 17 year cicadas emerges in some part of the eastern or central United States. In Spring 2021, a group of 17 year periodical cicadas called Brood X will make their appearance in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Author Laurence Pringle and illustrator Meryl Henderson have created the story of this fascinating and often misunderstood insect, one that deserves to be protected.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2010
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 2, 2012
This book is a great is you have the interest and endurance for 32 pages about cicadas, which I do. It's very well researched and for anyone who has been present during a cicada chorus, this book will clear and confusion you miht have about what is going on. I'm no entomologist, but this book kept me reading straight through.
May 12, 2021
Wonderfully illustrated and informative book on cicadas. Five plus stars to illustrator Meryl Henderson for the amazing watercolor images.
We are waiting on Brood X to emerge here in Cincinnati and this is the perfect book to recommend to Cincinnati Parks visitors.
We are waiting on Brood X to emerge here in Cincinnati and this is the perfect book to recommend to Cincinnati Parks visitors.
June 1, 2019
Terrific information about a fascinating creature.
May 29, 2025
excellent!
October 20, 2013
Cicadas! Strange and Wonderful
Overview: This text details the life of cicada insects.
W.4.3 Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
RI.4.5 Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.
Focus: Chronology
Step-by-step:
1. Inform students that chronology can be used to explain a topic that occurs in natural order.
2. Read step 1 and skip to step 3. Ask students if there is possibly a missing step. They should recognize that the cicada’s eggs are laid into the tree; step 3 says the cicadas are in the ground. The hatching step is left out. If students don’t notice this, tell them.
3. Read/Show p.16-17: Show students the life cycle of the cicada. Now go through the cycle in order. Make sure students understand that although the cycle has no “true” ending, that it does begin with mating and laying eggs.
4. Invite students to share what other topics could be explored through chronology (water cycle, life cycle of a butterfly, a “how-to” text, a “history of” text.
5. Challenge students to use a flow chart to map out a topic in which they could use chronology to explain.
Expected Outcomes:
Students should understand that when they are writing about a topic that has a particular order, chronology is a great way to ensure that no meaning is lost due events being misplaced from their natural order. Students should find a way to incorporate chronology in a piece they have already drafted, or to in a fresh writing.
Overview: This text details the life of cicada insects.
W.4.3 Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
RI.4.5 Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.
Focus: Chronology
Step-by-step:
1. Inform students that chronology can be used to explain a topic that occurs in natural order.
2. Read step 1 and skip to step 3. Ask students if there is possibly a missing step. They should recognize that the cicada’s eggs are laid into the tree; step 3 says the cicadas are in the ground. The hatching step is left out. If students don’t notice this, tell them.
3. Read/Show p.16-17: Show students the life cycle of the cicada. Now go through the cycle in order. Make sure students understand that although the cycle has no “true” ending, that it does begin with mating and laying eggs.
4. Invite students to share what other topics could be explored through chronology (water cycle, life cycle of a butterfly, a “how-to” text, a “history of” text.
5. Challenge students to use a flow chart to map out a topic in which they could use chronology to explain.
Expected Outcomes:
Students should understand that when they are writing about a topic that has a particular order, chronology is a great way to ensure that no meaning is lost due events being misplaced from their natural order. Students should find a way to incorporate chronology in a piece they have already drafted, or to in a fresh writing.
February 13, 2017
This book taught me a lot about those insects whose whiny buzz I hear every summer. I didn't know that there were so many species, and that one Chinese species is 7 inches long! That's a big buzzer! I also didn't know that the periodic cicadas emerge in 13- or 17-year cycles. Another fact I was fascinated to learn is that one group of periodic cicadas, Brood VII, can only be found in 2 counties in New York State. To my frustration, however, those 2 counties were not named, although the dots on the map on page 28 indicate that may be Monroe or Cayuga Counties. Their next big emergence will be in 2018. Maybe I'll mosey over there and listen in. I was also dismayed to realize that these insects don't migrate. They basically emerge, bear young, and die in the same geographic area unless someone physically tries to transplant them to another area, as the author is trying to do. So...since they spend 13 or 17 or (in the case of some species) only 1 year underground, if their habitat is paved over, they die. Already there are 2 extinct broods (XI and XXI). I hope this book is read by many teachers and schoolchildren so that they can try not to destroy their habitats.
The only other thing that frustrated me about this book was that the author never explained why some people call them "Junebugs." I grew up calling them that. Aside from that, I highly recommend this book, and would like to get a copy for my personal collection. Excellent!
The only other thing that frustrated me about this book was that the author never explained why some people call them "Junebugs." I grew up calling them that. Aside from that, I highly recommend this book, and would like to get a copy for my personal collection. Excellent!
January 26, 2011
I received a free review copy of this book from Boyds Mills Press.
I now know more than I ever wanted to know about cicadas. I first learned of the existence of these bugs when I was in high school, and I didn't like them then. I still don't like them, but, after reading this book, I at least know a little more about them.
This book, while it does provide a great deal of information about cicadas, seems a bit disjointed. There is no clear flow to the information presented. It was almost as if the author just made a list of things he knew about cicadas and put them in book form in no particular order.
This book will be useful when my students do research on insects. Before receiving this book, I had no books in my library about this particular insect, so, at the very least, this book fills that void.
I now know more than I ever wanted to know about cicadas. I first learned of the existence of these bugs when I was in high school, and I didn't like them then. I still don't like them, but, after reading this book, I at least know a little more about them.
This book, while it does provide a great deal of information about cicadas, seems a bit disjointed. There is no clear flow to the information presented. It was almost as if the author just made a list of things he knew about cicadas and put them in book form in no particular order.
This book will be useful when my students do research on insects. Before receiving this book, I had no books in my library about this particular insect, so, at the very least, this book fills that void.
December 18, 2015
Love this series. This book does not include environmental warnings at the end. It does include the fact that some folks eat cicadas and a picture of a smiling woman holding up a cicada shish kabob!
August 5, 2010
Accessible and informative like other books in the series.
September 22, 2014
Notes:
full of information but not overwhelming
life cycle and other interesting facts are illustrated
my kids love this book and all-things-cicada
full of information but not overwhelming
life cycle and other interesting facts are illustrated
my kids love this book and all-things-cicada
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews