Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!

Simple and friendly descriptions of common bugs are paired with a print book that provides additional facts and drawings that show actual sizes. The text is set to a jaunty tune with vocals that capture the energy of the book's vibrant, multitextured collage illustrations. The "Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!" song is catchy and well enunciated, making it easy for listeners to sing along. Narrator Crystal Taliefero's pacing and inflection of the text are strong, and page-turn signals help listeners follow along with the illustrations. A "Meet the Bugs" informational piece, which appears as an afterword, is read clearly by Alexandra Secchi--although the absence of that material in the book may be confusing to some. Young listeners will surely be tapping their feet to this infectious read-along. J.K.R. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

March 29, 1999
Barner (Dem Bones) creates an enthusiastic book crawling with splashy bugs. From the eager, impatient first line--"Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! I want to see bugs!"--the book's narrative voice grabs attention, but it's the butterfly-bright multimedia artwork that makes this book soar. Using cut and torn paper, pen and ink, watercolors and a computer, Barner creates compositions that buzz with color. The "fuzzy caterpillar with tiny feet" has a slightly skewed smile, buggy eyes and a long red body that swirls across a lemon-yellow spread; funky amoeba-like blobs floating by echo the electric colors and irregular, concentric circles of the caterpillar's spots. A spread with "actual size bugs" adds a more educational note, and older kids can study the "Bug-O-Meter," a chart that shows whether or not the eight featured creatures can fly, the number of legs they have, etc. Aspiring entomologists will develop a friendly, appreciative attitude toward the bugs they're most likely to encounter, and Barner's playful use of colors, shapes and words may even convert bug foes. Ages 2-6.