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(4)
K-3
Xtreme Insects series.
This series acquaints young readers with different types of insects. Each formulaic book includes a simple introduction of the genus, a discussion of body parts, and brief paragraphs on various species; edibility by humans and potential medical uses are also considered. Colorful, zoomed-in photographs vary in quality but will engage insect enthusiasts. "Xtreme fact" sidebars extend the texts. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Xtreme Insects titles: Butterflies, Crickets, Dragonflies, Grasshoppers, Mosquitoes, and Moths.
148 pp.
| Philomel
| October, 2017
|
TradeISBN 978-1-5247-3992-8$35.00
(3)
PS
After The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Carle wrote four more Very books, compiled in this valuable collection (minus their nonessential multimedia features): The Very Busy Spider, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, and The Very Lonely Firefly. After each visually stunning story, an activity, recipe, and project (the latter two require adult supervision) are included to further a child's enjoyment.
(4)
K-3
Translated by Nancy Wellins.
Illustrated by
Shahar Kober.
In an Israeli retelling of "The Ant and the Grasshopper," Cricket plays music all week and leaves little time to prepare for Shabbat, while Ant works so hard that she oversleeps and burns her cake. Luckily, neighbor Cricket has borrowed enough ingredients to bake a cake. The rhyming text (translated from the Hebrew) is uneven, but the art adds nice cultural specificity.
(2)
4-6
Illustrated by
Christopher Denise.
Vole dreams of sailing downriver to rejoin family and friends lost in a flood; Firefly dreams of flying to the moon; and baseball-loving Cricket yearns to be the best catcher since Yogi Berra. Affectionate third-person narration follows the friends' preparations for these quests. The entwined fates of the three characters (and human friend Peter) will move readers with their rightness.
Reviewer: Dean Schneider
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2015
(3)
K-3
Seedlings series.
These attractive books provide bite-size facts about their subjects, including their habitats, physical appearances, family relationships, diets, and behavior. Engaging, bright close-up photographs are prominently featured, and each book concludes with anatomically labeled photos of its respective creepy crawly. Spare, kid-friendly text with highlighted vocabulary words makes the information accessible to new nonfiction readers. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Seedlings titles: Ants, Crickets, Spiders, and Worms.
24 pp.
| Bearport
| August, 2013
|
LibraryISBN 978-1-61772-906-5$23.93
(4)
K-3
Snug as a Bug: Where Bugs Live series.
These books take readers inside creepy crawlies' hives, nests, holes, etc. to introduce the six featured species. There's some unspecific language, but the short bursts of one-sentence paragraphs and well-labeled, zoomed-in color photos will attract beginning readers. A "Science Lab" activity is included. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Snug as a Bug: Where Bugs Live titles: Inside the Ants' Nest, Inside the Bees' Hive, Inside the Worm's Hole, Inside the Spider's Web, Inside the Tarantula's Burrow, and Inside the Cricket's Burrow.
32 pp.
| Lerner
| February, 2012
|
LibraryISBN 978-0-7613-6736-9$25.26
(4)
K-3
Lightning Bolt Books: Animal Look-Alikes series.
Varied close-up and annotated photographs point out the differences and similarities between these two often-confused insect species. Readers learn how to distinguish between grasshoppers and crickets as well as how they sing, chirp, and grow. Though busy, the colorful layouts will draw in curious students of nature. Reading list. Glos., ind.
(4)
K-3
Creepy Creatures series.
Brief texts address basic questions about the title creatures: How big are they? What do they eat? Where do they live? The factual information is useful but incomplete. Extreme close-up photos will leave insect and arachnid fans enthralled. Each book includes a very simple craft or project (e.g., rub a stick over a comb's teeth to replicate crickets' songs). Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Creepy Creatures titles: Centipedes, Crickets, Mantises, and Spiders.
32 pp.
| Square Fish
| May, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-0-312-62575-7$15.99
|
PaperISBN 978-0-312-62576-4$3.99
(3)
K-3
My Readers series.
Illustrated by
Olga Ivanov
&
Aleksey Ivanov.
In Rescue, Harry Cat helps Tucker Mouse escape from a shop (Chester Cricket doesn't appear in this story). Tucker becomes the manager of a bug band (whose noisy rehearsals originally drove him crazy) in Beetle. While Feldman's text and the Ivanovs' look-alike art aren't on par with Selden and Williams's original work, these are two perfectly pleasant easy-reader episodes based on beloved characters. Review covers these My Readers titles: Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse: Harry to the Rescue and Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse: Tucker's Beetle Band.
32 pp.
| Candlewick
| September, 2008
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-4029-3$14.99
(3)
K-3
Start with Science series.
These picture books effectively introduce scientific principles in the simplest of terms. A bat helps curious kitten Oscar understand sound, and a cricket explains what causes movement. At the end of each story are two pages of further information including questions for readers. Blocky digital illustrations made up of simple shapes are lively and eye-pleasing. Ind. Review covers these Start with Science titles: Oscar and the Bat and Oscar and the Cricket.
91 pp.
| Eerdmans
| September, 2006
|
TradeISBN 0-8028-5289-0$15.00 New ed. (1967, Norton)
(3)
4-6
Illustrated by
Robyn Thomas.
Simms is a lonely boy who learns how to communicate with a cricket. This deceptively simple story involves a complex moral issue: should the cricket help kill a rat troubling the other creatures living beneath the boy's house? In this newly illustrated edition, Thomas's gentle stippled art nicely echoes the story's quiet style.
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Evaline Ness.
In this gentle story of an Appalachian farm boy, six-year-old Jay is anxious about going to school for the first time. An understanding teacher makes Jay and his pet cricket the focus of show-and-tell, and Jay's anxieties are allayed. Caudill's quiet, understated text is beautifully complemented by Ness's three-color woodcuts in this 1965 Caldecott Honor Book.
Reviewer: Terri Schmitz
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
February, 1965
32 pp.
| Atheneum/Jackson
| May, 2003
|
TradeISBN 0-689-84510-3$$16.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Ponder Goembel.
Old Cricket evades his wife's and his neighbors' requests to help prepare for winter by claiming various ailments such as a creak in the knee and a crick in the neck. But when hungry Old Crow comes caw-cawing to eat him for lunch, Old Cricket hightails it toward home with a real crack, crick, and creak and helps his wife without complaint. Expressive illustrations energize the critters in this rollicking alliterative tale.
32 pp.
| Clarion
| October, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-618-06554-7$$15.00
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Timothy Bush.
One night, a cricket, feeling insignificant and alone, enters a house and hides in the family's Christmas tree, where his song gives voice to the Christmas angel. The small-is-beautiful message may elude young children, but the gentle tone and almost cartoonlike cricket will capture their attention, as will the enormous glowing lights and bristly tree branches encircling the soft, poetic text.