How Do Ants Survive a Flood?: A Book About Bugs

Bugs are a continual fascination for little kids. This cute book is chock-full of interesting facts about several different kinds of bugs—cockroaches, wasps, crickets, ants, earthworms, bees, ladybugs, cicadas, and spiders. Cicadas are LOUD and can be heard from over a mile and a half away. Ladybugs and aphids have been taken into space to study how they would interact in zero gravity. Ants hold onto each other and form a raft if they need to escape rising water. Earthworms turn soil into food for plants and make space for water and nutrients to reach the soil.

Author Chason McKay writes with a lot of humor in a fun, conversational manner kids will enjoy reading or listening to. The bright, cartoonish illustrations by Srimalie Bassani support the text with lots of details and humor. The back matter includes two fun activities—building a bug hotel and making paper plate bugs. There is also a good glossary. The book can be read to youngsters four to five years old, but it will also be of great interest to emerging readers in first and second grade.