Best Bug Books

Can You Make a Scary Face
Jan Thomas | Beach Lane Books, 2009

This vivacious interactive book stars a bossy ladybug and is always a home run when read aloud. Great for eliciting dramatic play, following directions, and getting kids moving (read: don’t choose it yet if your group is still working on self-control).

Bring Me a Rock!
By Daniel Miyares | Simon & Schuster, 2016

A grasshopper on a power trip commands the other bugs to “Bring me a rock! The bigger the better!” But in folk-tale sensibility, when his throne begins to topple, perhaps all he needs is a pebble. Sparse, commanding text and vibrant illustrations provide loads of opportunities for characterisation, visual literacy, and dialogic reading.

Bee Dance
By Rick Chrustowski | Henry Holt and Co., 2015

 This is a thoughtfully designed read-aloud, packed with facts but also a smooth read aloud. It focuses on honeybees' unique ability to communicate with one another about the whereabouts of food and positions the reader as the bee. Packed with action verbs and opportunities for pantomime, this is an excellent informational picture book.

Some Bugs
By Angela DiTerlizzi | Illustrated by Brendan Wenzel 
Beach Lane Books, 2014

A delightful rhyming book with dynamic illustrations, this is a perfectly paced read aloud featuring many different kinds of bugs found in your own backyard. The layout is perfect for eliciting rhyming practice and visual literacy.

Beetle Bop
By Denise Fleming | HMH Books for Young Readers, 2007

This beautifully designed chantable/singable book practically vibrates with energy as rhythmic, rhyming text about all kinds of typically overlooked bugs spills from page to page. So many fun moments hide in the saturated, colorful illustrations.

The Very Impatient Caterpillar
By Ross Burach | Scholastic, 2019

 A hilarious read aloud told completely in dialog, this story highlights a skill that children find very difficult: being patient! This caterpillar can’t believe it’s going to take two weeks to metamorphosize and annoys his fellow caterpillar to no end with his impatience. First in a quartet.