Bugs and Minibeasts is a fabulous, sturdy, pop up board book which introduces young children to a variety of insects and other creatures. With spring just around the corner it is the perfect time to go outside and look for all the amazing creatures that are featured in this book.
Bugs and Minibeasts introduces caterpillars, frogs, spiders, bees, ants and other creepy crawlies, it also introduces creatures that come out at night. Small blocks of text are interspersed between bold colourful images and a wonderful moving pop up in the middle of each page.
The book starts by introducing creatures that can be found in a meadow and focuses on noises that they make and their different habitats – birds nest and an owl sleeps in the beautiful pop up tree.
At the beginning of the book we are also introduced to Benjamin the Bumblebee. On every page he shares an interesting fact about the various creatures, he adds a fun interactive element to the book.
There is so much interesting information in this book. We learn about how a caterpillar changes into a butterfly, how tadpoles turn into frogs and why frogs don’t need to drink, how many eyes a spider has and the number of bees needed to make a teaspoon of honey. We meet one of the strongest animals in the world (surprisingly it’s a type of beetle!) and learn about the different jobs that ants have.
Christiane’s illustrations are bold, vibrant and very busy. There are so many little details in each page. The pop ups are absolutely amazing, we love the spider and the fly catching frog. It’s also fun to find Benjamin although it wasn’t so easy on this page!!
The book ends with the same tree that it started but now it’s dark and time for nocturnal creatures to come out. We learnt an amazing new word on this page. Do you know what echolocation is?
Bugs and Minibeasts is a great book to include in a nursery or Early Years topic on minibeasts and can stimulate discussions about other insects and small creatures that children are familiar with. Older children could also choose a bug or a minibeast to research and write about for a class book.
Although a board book, Bugs and Minibeasts is a brilliant read for children of all ages and adults too. I learnt something new from the book too!
Age Range: 3 +
Author / Illustrator: Christiane Engel
Thank you to Little Tiger Press for sending a review copy of Bugs and Minibeasts. It’s the perfect read for this time of year 🙂
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