Respect the Insect - Jules Howard - ★★★★.¼
AUTHOR: Jules Howard
ILLUSTRATOR: Gosia Herba
GENRE: Children's Nonfiction, Animals
PUBLICATION DATE: July 4, 2024
RATING: 4.25 stars.
In a Nutshell: An informative and entertaining book offering you a multitude of reasons why you should “respect the insect.” Love the structure, the illustrations and the content. A couple of minor points could have been tackled better, but on the whole, definitely recommended to entomophiles as well as entomophobes.
Bugs always get a bad rap. To a great extent, I can understand why. They seem creepy, they crawl in nooks and crannies and spring out unexpectedly, they bite, they sting, they fly too fast to be caught,… But bugs are also amazing!
Disagree?
Here’s a book that aims to get you to respect insects. I love that word choice: “respect”. The plan isn’t to make you love insects but to make you appreciate them. And hopefully, not swat or squash them anymore. (Except cockroaches and female mosquitoes! I permit you to go wild and attack them with gusto! 😬)
People don’t realise that that (a majority of) insects aren’t a nuisance. (Most of the times.) Insects have been on this planet for longer than humans, and even dinosaurs. They have survived extreme heat as well as cold. They can thrive in any kind of habitat. They can eat any type of food. They can fly as well as crawl. If there’s one thing insects can teach us, it is resilience.
We depend on insects for many things. We already know some products that come from insects, such as honey. But do we know how important insects are in providing us chocolate and coffee? Imagine our world without these two delectable treats! 😱
This book begins by explaining what an insect is. It then provides eye-opening facts about a whole array of insects. The content is organised into sections based on the functionality of the insects, such as cleaners, food makers, eco warriors and so on.
The focus isn’t just on well-known human helpers such as the various pollinators. The information tackles not just what insects contribute to our life directly but also how they impact our lifestyle indirectly. I liked how some infamous insects such as termites, wasps and mosquitoes make guest appearances, offering a justification for why they behave the way they do.
The book winds up with the impact of climate change on the insect world, and a few pointers about what children can do to “be a friend to insects.’
The page organisation is excellent. The whole space is illustrated and filled with myriad insects, and neat text boxes provide the information. The content seems a tad bit cluttered in the digital version, so the book will be best enjoyed through a physical copy.
This book aims at readers aged 7-10 years, but the complexity and range of the information makes it suitable to 11-14 year olds as well. Younger kids will enjoy the illustrations and some of the facts, but the rest might be a little difficult for them to comprehend completely. There is a glossary at the end for the trickier scientific terms, but this will work only for the older children.
The only thing I didn’t like was how the book glossed over the truly negative aspects, and I don’t mean topics such as poisonous insects. There has been a lot of cruelty involved in human utilisation of insects, especially historically, whether through the boiling of silkworm cocoons in water to collect the silk or the crushing of cochineal bugs to make red dye. But the book either doesn’t mention the wickedness of humans at all, or it makes it sound like the insect has made peace with the sacrifice as it benefited humans. This didn’t rub me the right way.
All in all, I mostly loved this book. It sticks to its core theme and provides valid reasons to respect insects for all they are and all they do. I hope little (and adult) readers read this and realise that (most) insects are our friends. And let’s face it, some of them are adorable! (Don’t believe me? Check this out: https://www.prevention.com/life/g36608310/most-beautiful-insects/)
Definitely recommended to little bug lovers at home and also to classroom libraries. Also worth a try to those who are afraid of or disgusted by insects; may this book make you value the harmless little creatures.
My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for the DRC of “Respect the Insect”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
Want some more fun insect books for your littler little ones? Try these three amazing picture books from the ‘Bug Books for Children’ series by indie author Skye Wade:
These three books are available for free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.
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