Bug Dictionary An A to Z of Insects and Creepy Crawlies

There are few things that I find more disgusting than bugs. And yet, after reading Joyful Noise, I find myself a little more willing to learn more about these little critters. Thus, Bug Dictionary. The book opens with a brief overview about bugs, where they live, how they are grouped and about their life cycle. As the reader moves into the dictionary section, each letter of the alphabet has a page or two with one to ten examples of bugs beginning with that sound. For each bug the name is highlighted and a description is given, as well as a picture and a size comparison symbol. This symbol is either an eye or a hand. Below the symbol is a shadow of the insect and the measurement of the insect or its wingspan. This helps the children to see just how big or small each bug actually is. Additionally,the colorful illustrations are detailed without being frightening. The book ends with a glossary and index.

Bug Dictionary is a wonderful tool for children to use during a bug unit, when they find a bug they have never seen before, or to help them learn dictionary skills. The simple text with a smattering of scientific words invites readers to learn about each insect in a context they can understand and appreciate. For example,
"Ladybug 0.3 in. (7.6 mm)
Under its hard red wing cases, the ladybug has a pair of larger, more delicate wings. Ladybugs and their larvae are useful insects because they have a huge appetite for aphids and other pests. Their colorful bodies warn enemies that they taste awful. If the ladybug is faced with a dangerous enemy, it will squeeze out foul-smelling fluid from its knees." (p. 31)

As you can see, this text is easy to follow, inviting and interesting. A child unfamiliar with aphids can find a description located in the A section. An illustration is provided of the ladybug with its wings open showing both sets of wings and the body beneath.

I look forward to using this book throughout the spring and summer to learn more about some of the unique bugs that we find. I think my six year old will benefit from the early dictionary skills as well. What a lucky find!

Joyful Noise Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman

I must confess the idea of this book did not excite me at all. Poetry is not my favorite genre and I find bugs revolting - especially the hummingbird size bugs of Virginia. My first taste of Virginia bugs was the wasp - a not so friendly fellow, at least three times the size of those in NY and RI, who stung me on the throat. That was my welcome to VA five years ago. I still haven't forgiven that creature. Nevertheless, I asked my husband to join me in reading this book last night and was shocked that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Admittedly, not even the sad story of the Wasp could warm my heart to them, but I have a whole new appreciation for Mayflies - a significant foe in the Adirondacks of NY where we hike every summer. Our trips are scheduled around their anticipated arrival and departure. The poor little guys, they only live one day. "Your trifling day" "Our life". How sad! I still won't be going hiking with them, but they have reminded me to appreciate how precious one day really is. I also loved the image of fireflies as artists. "Light is the ink we use" "Night is our parchment" I never thought of them that way, but in hindsight it seems so obvious. Their magic attracts the youngest child and the oldest man, but rarely is their beauty regarded as art. Other stories were funny - Book Lice, a love story; The Moth's Serenade, another love story with a lightbulb (yes, a very brief romance); and House Crickets, living near the "bright blue pilot light". The two perspectives of Honeybees was so poignant. Having worked in a factory where the work is backbreaking and then having stood in a classroom doing what I love, I can fully appreciate this dicotomy. Without the factory worker, I wouldn't have paper to write on or read from in my classroom, but I rarely think about that. I should. Much more often.

I Have Seen Castles by Cynthia Rylant

What an amazing book - and what a perfect time in history to read it. "We deceive ourselves into believing we can clean up the enemy, put him back in his place, and have our chicken parmigiana another night. Soon."(p. 16) "And I think we all finally, deeply, understood that we were at war. And that our side might not win." (p. 43) Are these not some of our hopes and fears today? I suppose such feelings are universal in war times. Most books about war share the same themes - fear, loss, anger, and lost love. From the adult book Finding Julia to the children's book Shades of Gray, the emotions are the same. I have no doubt the books written about the war in Iraq will have the same universal themes as well.

I was struck by John's feelings of isolation from his family and the rest of society while in the war and after it was over. He says, "...the longer we all fought, the more commonality we found with each other [enemy soldiers]...and the less we found in common with the rest of the world..." (p. 82) In the end, John must leave America to be in "the company of people whose hands still shook" (p. 95) and who shared the same fears, memories, and anxieties. My heart ached for him and for soldiers everywhere who have returned and continue to return from wartorn countries only to be surrounded by people who have never in their lifetime seen blood shed on their soil, heard bombs explode in their neighborhoods - how immature and naive we all must seem!

Once again Cynthia Rylant has amazed me with her ability to draw you into the story and spit you out at the end with new perspectives, emotional connections, and understandings.