Bugs from Head to Tail

In the latest addition to the popular Head to Tail series, author Stacey Roderick focuses on bugs --- a kid favorite! --- and challenges readers to guess which bug each of eight different body parts belongs to. A full spread asks a question about a body part, “What bug has eyes like this?” with an illustrated close-up of that part. The following spread provides the answer to the question, “A grasshopper!” along with a full illustration of the creature in its habitat and a paragraph of text about the highlighted body part, in this case the grasshopper's eyes. Children learn about the bugs' habitats, diets, behaviors and standout skills. There's even a trick question: “What bug has a tail like this?” The answer is “None.” Bugs don't have tails! The interactive guessing-game of the text --- with just the right amount of repetition --- makes this an ideal choice for reading aloud. The bright, eye-catching cut-paper collage illustrations by Kwanchai Moriya have a playful charm and invite young children to study the details up close. Besides the eight featured bugs, there is an additional spread that includes seven other bugs and their unusual body parts, as well as text that explores which animals are categorized as bugs, or “arthropods.” This nonfiction book has direct applications to the life science curriculum in the early grades, which covers the physical characteristics and habitats of living things.