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Friday, September 5, 2014

Some Bugs, words by Angela Diterlizzi and bugs by Brendan Wenzel. Beach Lane Books, Simon & Schuster. 2014. $19.99 ages 4 and up

"Some bugs
FLUTTER.

Some bugs
CRAWL.

Some bugs
curl up in a
BALL.

What an invitation! In chipper rhyming text, Angela Diterlizzi shows her young audience the range of critters that they might find in their own backyards, if they keep a keen eye open for activity. The bugs they may discover appear to live happily together, except for the occasional appearance of a Hercules beetle. It seems they like to fight! Their lives are put under the spotlight to give interested future entomologists a close-up and personal look at the routines of their daily lives. They hop, glide, swim, as well as bite (those darn mosquitoes) and sometimes stink.

Brendan Wenzel's artwork is glorious and a visual reminder of the 'summer that was'. An illustration note says that 'the illustrations for this book are rendered in almost everything imaginable.' Infusing those images with light and filling the spreads with details that invite careful observation, he manages to conjure up a warm, sunny day filled with all things 'buggy'.

The bugs are plentiful, the colors are bold, the backyard is the perfect place. They range from the tiny dog flea to the much larger and more intimidating Chinese mantis. Each is depicted using mixed media and collage. A ladybug and a cat named Oskar are our guides as we make our way past the more than forty bugs that grace the pages in close-up shots of their workaday world.

An identification guide will take readers back to favorite pages, and perfectly ends this terrific book!
                                                                         

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