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"My First Book About Insects" by Kama Einhorn

Author:

Kama Einhorn

Publisher:

Random House Publishing, New York, 2007

Reviewed by:

Stephanie Orvis, Racine Zoo

This book is a part of the Sesame Subjects® series — which is licensed through Sesame Street’s Sesame Workshop® — and stars popular characters like Grover, Elmo and Oscar. It is intended for younger children, but it is filled with information older students may enjoy too. Reading this book is a little overwhelming because of all the information presented in the short 20-page book. Also, the thick, hard-to-tear pages are perfect for slightly younger children. The book provides a lot of educational items ranging from what insects eat to where they live.

The book is very accurate and informative while keeping the reader engaged with bright colors, different fonts, and fun, thought-provoking questions. Close-up pictures help children to be able to identify insects that they might see in their own back yards, as well as some that are less common.

Other redeeming qualities possessed by this book include counting and logic practice, introduction of new vocabulary words, and encouragement of the application of learned information. Good and bad qualities of bugs are discussed, so a new respect and appreciation of theses animals are instilled. At the end of the book, the author includes ideas of activities for children and adults to do on their own to learn more about bugs but does not encourage actual capture or overt touching of the animals.