10 Must Have Insect Books for Your Classroom

        Our classroom library was recently invaded with many insect-tastic reads for our upcoming unit on insects! Here are 10 of my favorite insect and bug books to introduce to youngsters:

Bugs in My Hair by David Shannon. A hilarious tale of finding--horror of horrors--live in your hair! How did they get there? What are they doing hidden in your roots? And when will they ever leave?!

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle. A grouchy, bossy ladybug stumbles upon many other creatures to learn how to be a kinder and more polite insect.

Are You a Dragonfly? by Judy Allen. From the well written Backyard Books comes yet another story of an amazing, unique insect: the dragonfly.

The Big Bug Book by Margery Facklam. Discover the 13 largest insects in the world with this reference book. Each insect is drawn to actual size in the illustrations to help readers get a picture of just how big these creepy crawlers can grow.

Caterpillar, Butterfly by Vivian French. With charming illustrations, a young girl and her grandfather observe a the metamorphose process of a caterpillar into a butterfly.

Ant Cities by Arthur Dorros. This book showcases all the life that takes place deep in an ant hill--how to identify different types of ants and all the different things they do as a colony.

Some Bugs by Angela DiTerlizzi. The vibrant, bold insect illustrations will capture any child's--and adult's--attention to pick it up. A great introduction to children about all the many things bugs can do.

Where Butterflies Grow by Joanne Ryder. Another excellent  book that explains the life cycle of a butterfly in simple story prose.

The Magic School Bus Inside a Bee Hive by Joanna Cole. Elementary students are sucked into a bee hive with Ms. Frizzle and her class to learn all about the many benefits of bees. 

The Ultimate Bugopedia: The Most Complete Bug Reference Ever by Darlyne Murawski. An awesome reference book for children to identify all the different varieties of insects in folk's backyards across the globe.

The Grasshopper and The Ant

The Grasshopper, singing
All summer long,
Now found winter stinging,
And ceased in his song.
Not a morsel or crumb in his cupboard--
So he shivered, and ceased in his song.

Miss Ant was his neighbor;
To her he went:
"O, you're rich from labor,
And I've not a cent.
Lend me food, and I vow I'll return it,
Though at present I have not a cent."

The Ant's not a lender,
I must confess.
Her heart's far from tender
To one in distress.
So she said: "Pray, how passed you the summer,
That in winter you come to distress?"

"I sang through the summer,"
Grasshopper said.
"But now I am glummer
Because I've no bread."
"So you sang!" sneered the Ant. "That relieves me.
Now it's winter--go dance for your bread!"

Fables in Rhyme for Little Folks

Adapted from the French of La Fontaine.

Written by,
W. T. Larned
Illustrated by,
John Rae.