Do You Love Bugs?; Matt Robertson

Do You Love Bugs? Well, do you? Me, I love a butterfly or a ladybird but I’m not so great around creepy crawlies. However, it is hard not to fall in love with all bugs after getting to know them a little better in this brilliant and highly accessible non-fiction read.

Bugs really are wonderful. The hairy to the slimy, the hard-bodied to the delicate winged. The eight eyed to the six legged to the five hearted. Bugs - large and small - wiggle, slide, flutter and fly their way through life and are essential to plants and humans. From beetles that only come out to say hi at Christmas time to ants that follow the rule of their Queen. Butterflies that smell just like cake to hard of hearing snails. Champion long-jumping grasshoppers to stinky bottom-burping stick insects. The world is made up of brilliant and beautiful bugs…

This is such a fun and enjoyable read and will leave children desperately wanting to go outside to see what bugs they can spot. Brilliant bees, super stick insects, wonderful worms, great grasshoppers, marvellous moths, dazzling dragonflies, amazing ants and splendid spiders are just some of the bugs that get to show themselves off. Adorable illustrations, friendly looking critters and lots of amazing facts easily combine to create a buzz about the natural world and a curiosity for bugs both big and small. Bursting with colourful, vibrant and playful pages, Do You Love Bugs? is a read that is immediately engaging, very entertaining and highly educational.

A lovely opening is accompanied by nine golden rules that teach children how to be respectful of various bugs. These rules are very playful and really encourage children to be friendly to bugs - no need to scream round spiders, try not to be a bother to bees and avoid getting upset with ants.

Over double page spreads, Matt Robertson introduces eleven different bugs and shares lots of little facts and snippets of information that allow readers to understand why bugs are so flippin’ awesome. An additional selection of ‘Bonus Bugs’ feature over a double spread at the end and includes leafhoppers, cicadas, lacewings and fruit flies. There are bugs that make honey to those who change colour to disguise themselves to those who evolve into a different bug entirely. Some can grow taller than a giraffe and then there are those that are less obvious to spot (always be on the look out for bugs on the ground so you don’t accidentally squish them). Bugs can sing, they can shoot webs (like actual Spiderman) and they can travel upside down. Of course they have some rather strange habits too - grasshoppers eat their own poo, spiders turn their food into mush before eating, animal tears and body sweat make the perfect thirst-quenching drink for moths and butterflies, and dragonflies breathe out of their bottoms. The world of bugs is wonderful, wacky and certainly puts the wild in wildlife.

A great book for younger children to share with an adult and for confident readers of six-plus to explore independently.

Recommended for 4+.