Insectorama: The marvelous world of insects by Lisa Voisard, translated by Jeffrey K. Butt

 This is an example of the fact that sometimes you don't know what you want! I requested a book on insects from Publisher's Spotlight, which promotes books from small publishers (you'll be hearing about that one later) and received a bonus book I did not request - but it turned out to be an awesome book that I can't wait to share with my young readers!

A simple explanation of insects opens the book with short paragraphs set against plain backgrounds covering the different orders of insects, their general habits and history, and their anatomy. The bulk of the book is composed of "portraits" of insects, divided up by their general habitat from towns and cities to wetlands and forests and ending with a some insects from around the world. Each portrait includes a large, geometrical illustration of the insect in the wild and a series of informational sections punctuated with smaller pictures. Metamorphosis, geography, and general behavior are all noted and makes this rather like an illustrated guidebook, although the pictures are much simpler than photos. I especially noticed that when there was sexual dimorphism present in the insects the identification pictures did not automatically revert to the male insect, as birding books tend to do. The book ends with a section, attractively illustrated, giving advice on watching and studying insects and more information on their migration patterns and other information.

This is noted as the North American edition of the book and I noticed only one minor error in the insect portraits, on page 88 with the praying mantis. This is identified as the "European" praying mantis within the text, and on page 90 it is noted to be invasive in North America. However, while the European and Chinese mantises are considered invasive, there is a native mantis, the Carolina mantis, which is abundant. I would have highlighted this one instead, especially since labeling the section "praying mantis" instead of "European mantis" implies that North America has no native mantises.

Verdict: This is a fun book for browsing and learning about insects and also a great guide for kids interested in studying or observing the common bugs and insects they see in their homes and yards. A strong purchase for most libraries, it has a nice diversity of insects seen across North America and the simple, infographic-style illustrations are easy for young children to understand.

ISBN: 9783039640164; Published March 2024 by Helvetiq; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library