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Ace Lacewing: Bad Bugs Are My Business, written/illus. by David Biedrzycki, (Charlesbridge, 2009), 44p, Ages 5-8.
"Some cases start small. Some cases start big. This one started with a small flea with a lump on his head." Scratch Murphy, owner of a local amusement park, turns to detective Ace Lacewing to find his missing bag of money. Ace's sleuthing leads to the Carpenter Ants Union, Six Legs Amusement Park, Bo Weevil, Lady De Bug, and Scritch, Scratch's twin brother. Along with his girl Friday, Xerces, and Police Sergeant Zito, "The Mosquito", they nab the runaway culprit and teach Scratch a lesson in anger management. This follow-up to Ace Lacewing, Bug Detective will have children asking for more buggy detective stories.

Crickwing, written/illus. by Janell Cannon, Harcourt Children's Books/Voyager Books, 2005),
48p, Ages 6-9.
A small cockroach, with a slightly bent wing, tries to avoid the forest predators while scavenging for food. Angry at the larger creatures for stealing his food, Crickwing decides to pick on the leafcutter ants. With a change of heart, he chooses to help the small ants and in the process he becomes a hero.

Diary of a Spider, written by Doreen Cronin, illus. by Harry Bliss, (HarperCollins Children's Books), 40p, Ages 4-8.
Told through a small spider's diary, his world is full of learning. He attends spider school and learns how to spin sticky webs, avoid vacuum cleaners, keep the insect population down, catch the wind to travel, stop, drop, and run when danger is near, and to never fall asleep in a shoe. Oh, and his best friend is a fly.

Flea's Best Friend, written & illus. by Charles Fuge, (Gareth Stevens Publishing, 1995), 24p,
Ages 4-7.
Flea loves dogs and this one lives on one with his entire family. One day he decides to find his very own home, but sometimes decisions are hard. Which dog should he choose? Large or small, speedy or slow, smooth or wrinkly?

Gotta Go! Gotta Go!, written by Sam Swope, illus. by Sue Riddle, (Farrar Straus Giroux Sunburst, 2004), 30p, Ages 3-7.
A small black and yellow caterpillar creeps across a meadow. When asked her destination, she replies, "I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!" On her journey, she meets a grasshopper, an ant, and takes a long rest to emerge as a Monarch butterfly and complete her journey to Mexico.

Hurry and the Monarch, written by Antoine ? Flatharta, illus. by Meilo So, (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), 40p, Ages 5-8.
Hurry is an old tortoise that lives in Wichita Falls, Texas. One day in fall, he makes friends with a Monarch butterfly when she stops in his garden to rest while migrating from Canada to Mexico. In spring, she again stops in Hurry's garden long enough to lay her eggs and flies off. The afterword includes facts about monarch butterflies. Beautiful illustrations also make this a winner.

In the Trees, Honey Bees, written by Lori Mortensen, illus. by Cris Arbo, (Dawn Publications, 2009), 32p, Ages 4-10.
In simple text, the lifecycle of a wild honey bee colony is viewed from a hidden beehive inside a tree trunk. Honey bees are shown collecting nectar and pollen to feed the colony, storing it in honeycomb cells, caring for the queen, feeding the eggs, collecting water, guarding the colony, and building combs from wax-secreting glands. Sidebar paragraphs supply additional information: "An average colony has 15,000 to 50,000 worker bees. But there is only one queen. Worker bees take care of her so she can lay the eggs that will become new members of the colony." The eye-catching illustrations will capture the interest of children, as well as endpapers, which provide additional information on various species, types, habits, and beekeepers. Children may never view honey bees in the same way again.

Katy Did It!, written/illus. by Lorianne Siomades, (Boyds Mills Press, 2009), 32p, Ages 2-5.
To most katydids, hopping is a way of life. However, to Katy it brings her nothing but trouble. She scatters pollen over the lilies, frightens the aphids off the tomatoes, and tangles up the spider's web. Following behind, her little brother shouts, "Katy Did It! Katy Did It!" When she dislodges an olive that is wedged in an anthill, the ants are extremely grateful, and her brother's words take on a very different meaning. Children will love the bouncy story and bright appealing illustrations.

Manuelo the Playing Mantis, written & illus. by Don Freeman, (Viking Children's Books, 2004), 32p, Ages 4-7.
Manuelo longs to join in the summer outdoor concerts with the other bugs, but has problems making an instrument. Nothing works until Debbie Webster, a clever spider, shows him a way to construct a cello. This opens up a whole new world to Manuelo.

Miss Spider's Tea Party, written & illus. by David Kirk (Scholastic, Inc., 1994), 32p, Ages 3-7.
A very lonely spider longs to make friends with other insects. She doesn't realize that they refuse her invitation to tea due to a fear of being eaten. An unspected thunderstorm gives Miss Spider an opportunity to prove her good intentions.

A Pocketful of Cricket, written by Rebecca Caudill, illus. by Evaline Ness, (Henry Holt Books, 2004), 48p, Ages 5-8.
One lazy August day a farm boy finds a cricket and they become best friends. When school begins, Cricket goes along, but his "Chee! Chee! Chee!" disturbs the class. Good thing it is show and tell. Originally published 40 years ago, this delightful tale will still charm children.

Up, Up, and Away, written by Ginger Wadsworth, illus. by Patricia J. Wynne, (Charlesbridge, 2009), 32p, Ages 4-7.
In spring when warm winds blow, baby garden spiders hatch and emerge from their protective silken sacs. One small arachnid eludes predators, including brothers and sisters, spins a long silk strand and is carried by air currents over fields and meadows, where it finally settles on a fence post. There she spins a web to catch passing food, stays until she mates, builds her own egg sac, and the cycle begins again. Endnotes provide information on garden spiders, their black and yellow markings, the strange pattern of their webs, their habitats, and life span.

Wings of Light: The Migration of the Yellow Butterfly, written by Stephen R. Swinburne, illus. by Bruce Hiscock, (Boyds Mills Press, 2006), 32p, Ages 6+.
Cloudless Sulphur, the common name of the Yellow Butterfly, begins its journey in the Yucatan rain forest and migrates across the Gulf of Mexico to the north as far as New England and to the west to Yellowstone National Park. Children will follow the trail of one yellow butterfly with a notched wing as it flies tirelessly over water to the southern United States, past wild ponies in Assateague Island, Maryland, over Washington D.C., taking shelter in New York Central Park, and on to southern Vermont where it mates. Endpapers contain information on the butterflies and theories as to why some Cloudless Sulphur leave the tropics to search out other places to live.

The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, written & illus. by Eric Carle, (Philomel Books, 1999), 28p,
Ages 3-7.
A message of hope and encouragement is offered as a small click beetle tries repeatedly to land on his feet. A patient turtle and slow-moving snail urge him to keep trying.