Bugs for Lunch

February 1, 1999
Here's the buzz from this chipper picture book: though they may not be everyone's favorite dish, bugs make tasty treats for many creatures, even humans. In simple rhyming verse, Facklam (The Big Bug Book) offers a list of critters that regularly dine on insects: "If your lunch was a bug,/ Who could you be?/ Maybe a nuthatch/ At work in a tree... You might be a gecko/ Or maybe a mouse,/ Eating the insects/ In somebody's house." An illustrated glossary expands on these basics, providing a plethora of fun facts. Simultaneously crisp and airy, Long's (Hush Little Baby; Ten Little Rabbits) pen, ink and watercolor compositions capture the natural world in realistic detail. Many young readers will delight in the "yuck" factor of depictions of children eating grubs roasted over a campfire or serving up stir-fried dragonflies on rice. Ages 3-8.

March 1, 1999
PreS-Gr 2-Facklam's cheerful, rhyming text introduces the read-to-me set (and beginning readers as well) to a variety of critters whose collation of choice is insects. A bat, a toad, a spider, a Venus flytrap, and even humans are shown catching an assortment of bugs on every eye-catching double-page spread. The excellent pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations are large, colorful, and realistic, showing not only the designated diner and intended entr e, but also a host of other insects, from ladybugs to damselflies, creeping and crawling and flittering about inside and outside of the margins. The closing three pages provide brief, informative paragraphs on each "bug-catcher," emphasizing its hunting methods. Unfortunately, the plethora of prey is largely left unidentified, which will probably lead to frustrating questions from young admirers of this handsome volume. Still, this is an attractive, high-interest book with an intriguing title and dramatic illustrations.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

February 1, 1999
Ages 3^-8. Facklam's playful rhymed verses and Long's brightly colored paintings combine to introduce young listeners to a variety of creatures that eat insects. They include well-known species, such as bats, bears, and aardvarks, as well as such lesser-known insectivores as rainbow trout and praying mantises and humans; they even include Venus's-flytraps. The artwork, much of it larger than life size, conveys a great deal of scientific information without ever appearing cluttered. Appended facts about the bug eaters portrayed on these double-page spreads help clarify the details in the illustrations and will be welcomed by curious readers. Although some children may be squeamish at the thought of tasting tarantulas, caterpillars, or dragonflies, the tone is matter-of-fact and nonjudgmental, which should diffuse at least a few groans. A good choice for primary science units; pair this with Doug Florian's informative verses "Insectlopedia" (1998). ((Reviewed February 1, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)