Monday, July 30, 2018

Just like us! Ants by Bridget Heos, illustrated by David Clark

Somehow I missed this new series by Bridget Heos, queen of the funny nonfiction genre. It's pretty awesome.

The first spread jumps right in with a close-up of an ant's face, serrated jaws and all, before hopping over to the cartoons. Ants are compared to humans as we see them building communities, farming, protecting their homes, and going to war. Silly cartoons are interspersed with real photographs to clarify behavior and other points, like the startling size differential between ants with different jobs.

The book finishes with a brief glossary and bibliography.

For kids (or teachers) wanting to learn more about these fascinating insects, this makes a great introduction. I would have liked to see a little more clearly in the illustrations that some of the behavior belongs to different kinds of ants. Some spreads are about specific ants (weaver ants, leafcutter ants, etc.) while others do not specify the ant, presumably referring to a general type of behavior.

Verdict: This series spans a wide number of animals from birds to insects, mammals to fish, and will make a great resource for schools and libraries alike.

ISBN: 9780544570436; Published 2017 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

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