Insects – Diane's Picture Book Favourites

Julia Donaldson: The Woolly Bear Caterpillar

Illustrated by Yuval Zommer

Published by Macmillan Children’s Books, 2021

Caterpillars, cocoons, butterflies, and moths. The transformative process of being one thing and becoming something else is one of the miracles of life. And in this story, that’s not the only surprise waiting in store for the reader. Filled with bright, beautiful colours and catchy singsong chanting rhymes, four very different caterpillars discover that what you are today, is not necessarily what you will be all your life!

The star of this story is a dandelion-loving, brown, fluffy, and very ordinary looking woolly bear caterpillar. When the dandelions she loves to eat are pulled up by the gardener, the woolly bear caterpillar must crawl off to search for some new ones.

On the way she encounters a stunning sycamore caterpillar who boasts about her gorgeous coat of red and yellow. A bit further on, there is a vapourer caterpillar proudly showing off tufts of yellow hair all along its purple and red body. Lastly, on the boughs of a towering poplar tree, a puss moth caterpillar sings about the weird, wonderful, and strange red markings covering its face.

Poor woolly bear caterpillar. She has been teased and taunted about her plain brown looks. The other caterpillars are sure that when they become moths, they will be even more beautiful and colourful than they are now.

Distracted by some newly found dandelion leaves, the little woolly bear caterpillar tries to cheer herself up. After all, there is not much you can do to change the way you look, but you can be master of your own thoughts!

Snug in their cocoons, the caterpillars begin their transformation. Some weeks go by, and the moths begin to hatch one by one. The teasing caterpillars have emerged quite plain, but the woolly bear caterpillar is dazzling with her blue spots, stripy body and tiger patterned wings. It’s a vindicating moment and the other moths sing their praises of her!

Julia Donaldson uses wonderful rhythm and rhyme in this story, making it a joy to read. The illustrations are radiant and colourful, complementing the text and enhancing the narrative. There is even a small non-fiction booklet attached to the inside back cover by Michael Blencowe, All About Caterpillars and Moths, which has more information about moths and caterpillars, their body parts and habitats.

I can highly recommend this picture book for children 3-6 years and below are more suggestions for picture books which feature the amazing caterpillar and glorious butterflies and moths:

Ten Little Caterpillars
by Bill Martin Jr.
Illustrated by Lois Ehlert

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by Eric Carle

Caterpillar Butterfly
by Vivian French
Illustrated by Charlotte Voake

A Butterfly is Patient
by Dianna Hutts Aston
Illustrated by Sylvia Long

My Butterfly Bouquet
by Nicola Davies
Illustrated by Hannah Peck

Fuzzy Doodle
by Melinda Szymanik
Illustrated by Donovan Bixley

Arabella Miller’s Tiny Caterpillar
by Clare Jarrett

The Butterfly
by Anna Milbourne
Illustrated by Cathy Shimmen

Caterpillar Dreams
by Jeanne Willis
Illustrated by Tony Ross

Caterpillar and Butterfly
by Ambelin Kwaymullina

First Nature Caterpillar
by Harriet Evans
Illustrated by Bryony Clarkson

Caterpillar and Bean
by Martin Jenkins
Illustrated by Hannah Tolson

Cora Caterpillar
by Barry Tranter
Illustrated by Emma Tranter

Miss Caterpillar’s Colours
by Stuart Lynch

Goodnight Sleepy Caterpillar
by Patricia Hegarty
Illustrated by Thomas Elliott

An Extraordinary
Ordinary Moth
by Karlin Gray
Illustrated by Steliyana Doneva

Moth by Isabel Thomas Illustrated by Daniel Egneus

Helen Milroy: Backyard Bugs

Illustrated by the author

Published by Fremantle Press, WA, 2021

Helen Milroy is a First Nations artist and illustrator, born in Perth and a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Helen has dedicated this picture book to her brother David, in remembrance of all those times when they were children, finding bugs together in the wide outdoors.

I don’t remember looking for insects and bugs in my childhood, but I do remember being stung by bees many times and my mother using toothpaste to soothe the painful wound. We saw lots of bull ants in the red soil of my grandfather’s farm in Monbulk and heavy, iridescent beetles winging their way to shade under the chestnut trees.

When I am out in the garden today, I’m happy to find a ladybug. They are feather light, small and delicate, unique in colour and the number of dots they carry on their backs. Sometimes I see praying mantises too, swaying hypnotically, until they pounce, faster than you can imagine, upon an unsuspecting fly. Some spider webs are engineering marvels, and make you think of strands of pearls on dewy mornings.

This picture book is a wonderful introduction to the world of insects and bugs for very young children. You could walk out the back door and discover all of them in your backyard. Ants marching, dragonflies flitting, worms wriggling, spiders hanging, snails slipping and sliding, crickets chirping and ladybirds landing upon your sleeve. Each insect has its own double page spread, simple rhyme, and is illustrated using bright and vibrant colours nestled within stunning indigenous designs.

I can highly recommend this picture book for children 2-4 years and below are more suggestions for picture books which feature insects and bugs:

Some Bugs by Angela DiTerlizzi Illustrated by Brendan Wenzel

Bugs Everywhere by Lily Murray Illustrated by Britta Teckentrup

Bug Bear by Patricia Hegarty Illustrated by Carmen Saldana

Peep Inside Bug Homes
by Anna Milbourne
Illustrated by Simona Dimitri

The Spider and the Fly
by Mary Botham Howitt
Illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi

What the Ladybird Heard
by Julia Donaldson
Illustrated by Lydia Monks

Superworm by Julia Donaldson Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

The Woolly Bear Caterpillar
by Julian Donaldson
Illustrated by Yuval Zommer

Be Nice to Spiders
by Margaret Bloy Graham

Yucky Worms by Vivian French Illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg

How Many Bugs in a Box?
by David A. Carter

The Very Clumsy Click Beetle
by Eric Carle

Philip Bunting: The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants

Illustrated by the author

Published by Omnibus Books/Scholastic Australia Pty Ltd, 2020

Ants are everywhere. I see them at home, in my letterbox, under pot plants, gathering around sand mounds in the cracks of concrete. I notice that they are more active just before rain. I am annoyed when they come inside my pantry and find the honey jar. But apart from that, I have not given the humble ant much thought. That is, until now. And I have Philip Bunting to thank for it. Did you know that ants can teach us about ourselves, our communities and our planet?

According to Philip Bunting, ants love family, recycling, micronaps and helping other ants, they communicate using pheromones, the smelly alphabet of the ant world, and they know what their role is when they are born. Their “superpower” is to live and work cooperatively and harmoniously with every other ant in the colony. While most of us hope to leave this world behind in better shape than when we arrived, Philip Bunting assures us that the humble ant can help us figure out how to do that. When you think about it, ant colonies are masterpieces of engineering, community and collaboration….and it’s all happening in our backyards!

The illustrations in this picture book are uncomplicated, use a limited colour palette and are sprinkled with humor. Philip lives in Queensland, although he is originally from the English Lake District and sometimes teams up with his wife Laura to produce picture books.

I highly recommend it for children 4-8 years old. Here are more of my favourite picture books by Philip Bunting:

Kookaburras Love to Laugh
by Philip Bunting

Another Book About Bears by
Laura and Philip Bunting

Jorey Hurley: Beehive

Illustrated by the author

Published by A Paula Wiseman Book/Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2020

Using only 15 words, Jorey Hurley explores the complex world of bees and the process they go through to make beehives and honey. Those precise words accompany uncomplicated and informative art to help us understand their meaning. I love books that use sparse text. It gives the reader the opportunity to use their own words and ask questions about what they can see on the page, how it links to the previous page and where the story might be going next. A conversation can begin and very soon, a young reader or listener can develop comprehension skills, narrative skills and imaginative empathy, without even being conscious of it. A story with few words can also be used for children of different ages. Younger children can appreciate it for its simplicity, brevity and colourful imagery. Older children can ask questions and find more detailed answers at the end of the story in the author’s note, which adds depth of knowledge to the single word chosen for each double page spread. The limited colour palette contributes to the feeling of calmness too, there is no rushing here, just time to absorb the creativity and importance of bees in our gardens, in the food we eat and in our environment.

Jorey Hurley is a talented artist who sells her own prints, paintings and stationery. I can highly recommend this picture book for children aged between 2-8 years. Here are more of my favorites: