• Age: 3 to 7
• Grade: p to 2
• Reading age: 3 to 7

In the latest addition to the popular Head to Tail series, author Stacey Roderick focuses on bugs --- a kid favorite! --- and challenges readers to guess which bug each of eight different body parts belongs to. A full spread asks a question about a body part, “What bug has eyes like this?” with an illustrated close-up of that part. The following spread provides the answer to the question, “A grasshopper!” along with a full illustration of the creature in its habitat and a paragraph of text about the highlighted body part, in this case the grasshopper's eyes. Children learn about the bugs' habitats, diets, behaviors and standout skills. There's even a trick question: “What bug has a tail like this?” The answer is “None.” Bugs don't have tails!

The interactive guessing-game of the text --- with just the right amount of repetition --- makes this an ideal choice for reading aloud. The bright, eye-catching cut-paper collage illustrations by Kwanchai Moriya have a playful charm and invite young children to study the details up close. Besides the eight featured bugs, there is an additional spread that includes seven other bugs and their unusual body parts, as well as text that explores which animals are categorized as bugs, or “arthropods.” This nonfiction book has direct applications to the life science curriculum in the early grades, which covers the physical characteristics and habitats of living things.

Stacey Roderick is a children's book editor and the author of Dinosaurs from Head to Tail, Ocean Animals from Head to Tail and Bugs from Head to Tail. She lives with her family in Toronto, Ontario.

Stacey Roderick's profile page

Kwanchai Moriya is an illustrator and painter. He was born in New York and grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. He completed his education with a degree in History from the University of California and a degree in Illustration from the Art Center College of Design. Kwanchai lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Kwanchai Moriya's profile page

• Winner, First and Best List, Toronto Public Library

Attractive, informative, and beautifully designed.

Kirkus Reviews

... a wonderful tool to introduce young entomologists to the enigmatic world of bugs.

CM Magazine

A successful example of read-aloud nonfiction that would be a welcome addition to most library collections.

School Library Journal