Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: bugs

  • A Way with Wild Things

    A Way with Wild Things

     Always, it is a fine thing to remember that we have different likes and dislikes. To be quiet, shy, love outdoor life and bugs is a fine way to be. To accept this in others and enhance their sense of belonging means a happy and peaceful life for all.

    This is very much the message in this colourful, softback picture book, A Way with Wild Things. Amid the double page spread, showing a garden, we meet Poppy. She loves bugs. She enjoys watching ants marching by and watching a spider weave its magic web.

    When it comes to mixing with others Poppy likes to blend into the background. Inside the house she likes to meld into the furnishings. It is not until Grandma Phyllis’s one hundredth birthday party in the garden, that Poppy ever feels at home and special. It all has to do with a dragonfly, and Grandma Phyllis, acknowledging that “Poppy’s got a way with wild things,”

    Sometimes it just takes the smallest recognition from others to engender confidence in a child. A Way with Wild Things is a lovely story and message for children. The illustrations are bright and simple, with many details. The text is large and well-spaced, with varying sizes of words. This is a delightful look at those who love the outdoors, and a happy read.

  • Bugs in Danger Our Vanishing Bees, Butterflies, and Beetles

    Bugs in Danger Our Vanishing Bees, Butterflies, and Beetles

    What happens when those pesky bugs, beetles and hardworking bees simply vanish, or become less than before? What difference do they make to the environment and more importantly what overarching effect do they have on the survival of the human race.

    These are questions that have seen much scientific research carried out over recent years, with findings that have to put it mildly, horrified the scientific world, not just on one level or within one speciality, but in the broadest of contexts.

    Scientists have been seriously concerned about the decimation of the bee population on a worldwide basis for many years, and it is not until you look at the a windscreen after a long journey and realise there are not many, if any squashed bugs on it, you then begin to wonder why.

    But move on one step further to the overall effect on the future of the human race, what the serious decline of the little critters of the world is going to have on crops, pollen spreading, and so much more.

    Mark Kurlansky has taken this massive subject and pared it down into words that reach out to a wide range of ages and reading levels, as he presents the facts as they are in plain terms, difficult to dispute and seriously worrying.

    By taking a long hard look at the human cause of such wholesale destruction, with the massive clearing of land, light pollution, chemical use on crops and wanton destruction of habitat world wide, he draws a very sobering conclusion: that if things keep deteriorating as they have done over the past one hundred years and more, life on planet earth is in serious jeopardy.

    He points out so many simple things that can be undertaken by everyone as they go about their daily life to help try and begin to reverse the careless damage done to the environment; things such as watching where you are walking when in the bush, take care not to step on ants and other bugs such as ladybirds, discontinue the use of pesticides and chemicals in the garden, plant to have a bee friendly environment in your garden and yards, regardless of the size.

    Kurlansky also suggests we all take the time to look around what is left of this beautiful planet and make a conscious effort to do better, to enjoy the beauty, to ensure that by looking after the bugs, bees and butterflies that this beauty is there for future generations.

    Bugs in Danger is a must read, should read book, and is a very clear wake-up call to everyone to take action and help save the bugs in your own backyard.

  • Here Comes Stinkbug!

    Here Comes Stinkbug!

    What a great way to talk about nature. Once again Tohby Riddle has presented us with a quality story which has messages about insects and purpose. It is delightful to read and children will enjoy the references to the bug which stinks. The art work compliments the story well and gives extra depth to the text.

    We meet stinkbug, and he seems to be a pretty happy fellow. However, his bug mates are rather troubled by his preposterous smell, and stinkbug often wonders why his other bugs friends wander off quite quickly. Eventually it was leopard slug who raised the issue of smell with stinkbug. This started him thinking and he wondered if slug really needed to be as slimy. Slug said,” I’m a slug, I need slime to get around.”, so we see slug’s slime has a purpose. However, stinkbug thought he might just try to stink a little less for his friends. Sometime later an occasion arises where a strong defence is needed and stinkbug’s smell is just the thing to ward off danger.

    The simple pictures convey a great set of emotions from the bugs. The drawings half fill the page giving the reader ample opportunity to count legs and eyes and examine body parts. The text is a large size and the spoken words are in bubbles above the insect’s head. This is a beautifully presented story, with quality art work. The humour is tempered by the scary part, but that serves to show the purpose of a stink!