BUSY BUILDERS

Many-legged home-builders are rendered in remarkable artwork.

Eight habitat-building insects plus one spider are introduced. Each receives a close-up two-page look at the animal alone followed by a full-spread painting of the web, hive or mound in which it lives, here accompanied by a description of its hunting, nesting and food-storage habits. For most of the insects, the habitat provides a way to store its eggs and hatch and nurture larvae; the spider uses its web to capture its food. The full-color ink illustrations work well to give a sense of the creature’s body structure as well as of the general look of the hive or nest for each. The individual portraits are terrifically impressive, while the handsome habitat paintings show very well from a slight distance, making this a good choice for reading aloud to a group. Munro includes within each habitat drawing a close-up or cutaway interior look at a piece of the structure. The information presented is clear and unadorned, densely packed in a trim, compact type against the background of the habitat paintings. More information appears on the insect-focused introductory page directly opposite the title-page verso, and a glossary of “Bug Words” along with a brief list of resources is included on the last page.

Enticing as an introduction to insects and spiders.