Ants (Denver Museum Insect Books) - Hardcover

Gr. 1-3. New books in the Denver Museum of Nature and Science series do a good job of combining age-appropriate projects to reinforce learning with just plain facts. These volumes, useful to youngsters fascinated by insects as well as to those studying them in the classroom, will pump up the curiosity level. Full-color close-ups of ants and bees in their natural habitats (slightly better in Bees than ants) and scientific drawings, all well labeled, bring kids literally face-to-face with bugs. The text, delivered in small bites mostly scattered across the pages and usually accompanied by spot art, is direct, one idea per paragraph. It briefly describes physical characteristics, social structure, behavior, and the growth cycle. Hodge also neatly works in odd bits of fact and gives stellar explanations of unfamilar subject-specific terms (pollen is "flower dust"). A few lines of text relate each project (there are three in each book) to the main discussion. A great way to bring a bit of the outdoors inside. Stephanie Zvirin
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