The wonderful wisdom of ants by Philip Bunting

 Nobody does the subtle humor of googly eyes like Philip Bunting. A fairly recent Australian import to the US market, I've been increasingly delighted by his quirky style and informative titles. This particular book, published in 2021 but only available in the US this year, is a great example of his work.

The book opens with a magnified ant and the caption "this is an ant". "Hey!" says the ant. the next page features an ever-growing stream of ants, ballooning into quadrillions of ants! Bunting's humorous illustrations go from the general context of ants in the world, to their specific skills, abilities, and habits. We see cut-away pictures of ant tunnels, profiles of ant jobs, and detailed explanations of how ants use pheromones.

Bunting extrapolates from the fascinating abilities of ants to lessons for humans, like "Love your family." and "Reuse or recycle everything." ending with a stream of ants carrying the words "Leave the earth in better shape than it was when you got here."

Verdict: This isn't strictly a nonfiction book about ants, although it does contain a lot of information about them. It's not really a storytime read-aloud either, due to the length of some of the text. But it's a great choice for earth day (or any day) reads in an elementary classroom with fun facts and a thoughtful message. Pair with Bridget Heos' Just like us! Ants for an interesting exploration of the world of myrmecology and the interconnectedness of life.

ISBN: 9780593567784; Published March 2024 by Crown; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library