Bothered by Bugs

This is a fabulous book. The environmental message about the role of bugs in nature’s ecosystem is clear, creatively told and one that is desperately needed. Many children do not like bugs and creepy crawlies and some think nothing of squishing them if they come too close.

The end pages of this book are a good starting point for discussion with children – they are full of beautiful fruit pudding recipes that appear annotated in pen by the badger in the story. Teachers can ask children why they think these end pages have fruit recipes when the front cover of the book indicates it is all about bugs. By the end of the book, children will be clear of the importance of bugs in pollinating plants and allowing plants to grow and bear fruit that we can then eat and include in amazing desserts.

The illustrations in the book afford great discussion about the wildlife in the story and the interdependence of each with the environment. If you lift the book jacket, the inside is filled with pictures of different insects – all carefully drawn and labelled demonstrating the huge variety of bugs we have. If you the jacket off completely children will be amazed by the ‘second book cover’ that has a different book title altogether with the title ‘How to Cook Fruit: A Culinary Badger’s Guide to Preparing Gruit’ and you can see badger reading this book on the first page of the story. This can prompt lots of discussion about why the author decided to do this.

This is a fabulous book, for the story, the discussion it prompts about the environment and insects and also a consideration of the role of Emily Gravett’s choices about the layout and design of the book. A must!