Bugs Don’t Hug, Six-legged parents and their kids

Bugs Don’t Hug, Six-legged parents and their kids, by Heather L. Montgomery; illus. by Stephen Stone

32 pages; ages 3-7; Charlesbridge, 2018

Mommy and daddy bugs don’t give good-morning kisses. They don’t tie shoes or untangle hair. And bugs don’t hug.

Open the pages and you find that there are things parent bugs simply “don’t do”. They don’t serve eggs and toast. They don’t play peekaboo. But when you turn the page you discover …

Yes! Bug parents are just like human parents. I like the way author Heather Montgomery uses compare-and-contrast to show the similarities and differences in parents. Maybe bugs don’t bake birthday cakes, but they do make a cake for their babies. It’s fun and best of all – surprising! The illustrations are cartoony and fun. And I LOVE the back matter (of course) – more about each of the insects featured in the book plus a note on scientific language. And a list of books to read for the naturally curious kids.

Head over to Archimedes Notebook for another book about animal parenting and some Beyond-the-Book activities.

STEM Friday