Book Review: Insectlopedia

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Florian, Douglas. 1998. INSECTLOPEDIA. New York: Harcourt. ISBN: 0329281631

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Insectlopedia is a book of poems about various types of insects, just like an encyclopedia. Throughout the 21 insect poems, the reader learns a few fun facts about each insect and has fun while reading them. The types of insects vary from flying insects to bugs that can make you squirm.

3.      CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Florian does an excellent job bringing these insects to life and even making them lovable by including silly descriptions. When describing ticks Florian says, “Not gigan-tic. Not roman-tic. Not artis-tic. Not majes-tic. Not magne-tic. Nor aesthe-tic. Ticks are strictly parasi-tic.” The rhyme and rhythm of his words make this book fun to read aloud. The layout of his words is extremely playful, I loved how his poem about the inchworm is shaped in the form of an actual inchworm. After reading this book, I was left laughing and wanting to read more by Florian!

The illustrations used throughout the story were made of watercolor on brown paper bags in a collage. Florian’s pictures appear to be slightly messy and almost childlike, which is sure to inspire a young artist. The pictures are very dull and include lots of browns, yellows and oranges. Because of Florian’s color choices, they do not compete with his poems and instead complete them.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY review: "The silly, imaginative verses about whirligig beetles and waterbugs (almost) match the exquisite pictures in playfulness and wit. The result is downright stunning."

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “As he did in Beast Feast (1994), On The Wing (1996), and In the Swim (1997, all Harcourt), Florian offers 21 short, inventive poems and paintings that create playful images of animals. Here, the subjects are arthropods such as the mayfly, praying mantis, hornet, black widow spider, and weevils. The verse form is as varied as the creatures presented. Shaped or pattern poems about the inchworm, whirligig beetles, and mound-building termites work particularly well. The words are arranged in pleasing patterns and the rhythms fit the characteristics of the subjects. The design adds to the overall appeal. Each selection is given its own page, allowing for the use of large type and plenty of glossy white space, and paired with a full-page watercolor with a neat border of white. These portraits build on the imaginatively integrated realistic and anthropomorphic images created in the text. There are other books of poetry about insects and lots of collections of humorous verses about animals but none match Insectlopedia.”

KIRKUS REVIEW: “The creator of In the Swim (1997) joins Paul Fleischman (in Joyful Noise, 1987) in poetically praising insects. Read alone or read aloud, each of these ticklish tidbits features an individual member of the insect world, and focuses on attributes, foibles, and antics displayed in the eight-legged community. The daddy longlegs is accused of engaging in spiderobics, the walking stick performs a disappearing trick, and mosquitoes feast on the skin as ``take-out.'' Some of the entries rely on clever wordplay, while others are examples of concrete poetry; the text takes on the hump of the inchworm or the spiral movements of the whirligig beetle. The watercolor illustrations, abstract and stylized, achieve a comic effect by incorporating collage elements reminiscent of an entomolgist's field notes.”

 

5. CONNECTIONS

*Go on an insect walk outside and see if you can find some of the insects that you read about in the story.

*After reading this book, do a bug research project with your student or child.

*Love bugs? Check out these books to learn more about them:

Johnson, Jinny. SIMON AND SCHUSTER CHILDREN’S GUIDE TO INSECTS AND SPIDERS. ISBN: 9780689811630

Rabe, Tish. ON BEYOND BUGS: ALL ABOUT INSECTS. Ill. by Aristides Ruiz. ISBN: 9780679873037

Barner, Bob. BUGS, BUGS, BUGS. ISBN: 9780811822381