Reading Level: Kindergarten Interest Level: Grades K – 3
Millions of insects call Earth home. Each book in Hello, Insects! introduces emergent readers to a specific insect, detailing its unique behaviors, habitats, and body parts. Vibrant, full-color photos and labels complement the text to show the unique features of each insect.
Insect aficionados will appreciate this beginner science series that arouses empathy for these six-legged creatures and explains what’s special about them. The series provides extremely basic information about some familiar bugs. Each volume opens with a section that guides adults in helping students read nonfiction texts. Readers mostly navigate short vowel sounds, with occasional long vowel words and vowel blends. Pronunciation guides would have been helpful for some words that might be unfamiliar, like aphids or predators. Students will appreciate onomatopoeic words that represent sounds various insects make. Remarkable close-up color photos in each book clearly depict what the insect looks like, with information that includes a description of its body parts, what the parts are used for, its coloration, and its habits. VERDICT: With its notably excellent visuals, this series is recommended for schools and public library collections.
