Drawing on children's innate fascination with creepy crawlies..., this book presents 35 of the world's biggest, longest, and heaviest bugs.... Double-page spreads feature each bug's statistics, a map with its area of distribution, and straightforward text that explains its living conditions, eating habits, and life cycle as well as the difficulty of capturing some of these elusive creatures. The highlights, of course, are the numerous life-size and up-close full color photographs of the bugs set against both white backgrounds and in their natural environments. The photograph of a Chan's megastick, the world's longest insect, requires a foldout page. Further information and a list of references conclude this high-interest title. Although the text can be challenging and no glossary is offered, the visual appeal alone will entice even the most reluctant readers.
- Angela Leeper Booklist 2010 12 01
Biggest Bugs will amaze and inform curious young readers who may never get to see such exceptional species in the wild. It may encourage a new sense of respect for this diverse group of living things that many of us consider to be merely 'creepy crawlers'. Highly Recommended.
- Gillian Richardson Canadian Materials 2010 11 12
This jolly reference work showcases nonmarine arthropods, excluding crustaceans and including arachnids and myriapods...in common parlance, bugs! Not just any bugs, but startlingly big bugs, the biggest of their kind...and here reproduced in glossy, spine-stiffening life-size photographs. George Beccaloni's text is sharp and loaded with facts but also intelligently enthusiastic. He wisely includes maps to show the creatures' distribution--at least some readers will be happy to note how far away many of them live. "My first notable encounter with any bug was with one of the species featured in the book," says Beccaloni. "When I was two and living in Kenya, I found a rolled-up giant African millipede, the world's longest bug. Mistaking it for a biscuit, I bit it." In such curious ways are entomologists born, though most will be happy they saw this book first.
- Kirkus Reviews 2010 09 15
A Notable Book
- Scientific American 2010 10
Drawing on children's innate fascination with creepy crawlies and the success of Steve Jenkins' Actual Size (2004), this book presents 35 of the world's biggest, longest, and heaviest bugs, from beetles, grasshoppers, and butterflies to praying mantises, spiders, and millipedes and even the lesser-known vinegaroon (an arachnid that resembles a scorpion) and solifugid (an arachnid that resembles a spider). Double-page spreads feature each bug's statistics, a map with its area of distribution, and straightforward text that explains its living conditions, eating habits, and life cycle as well as the difficulty of capturing some of these elusive creatures. The highlights, of course, are the numerous life-size and up-close full color photographs of the bugs set against both white backgrounds and in their natural environments. The photograph of a Chan's megastick, the world's longest insect, requires a foldout page. Further information and a list of references conclude this high-interest title... The visual appeal alone will entice even the most reluctant readers.
- Angela Leeper Library Journal 2010 12 01
Beccaloni defines biggest to mean "the largest body length or greatest wingspan" (though in many cases, the biggest length-wise are the heaviest) and includes a hefty sampling of 35 big "bugs" from all around the world, along with informative text and geographic maps.... Even for the skittish, it's hard not to marvel at these buggy behemoths. At least in this case, they're confined to the safety of the page.
- Julie Leibach Audubon Magazine 2011 03 11
A book about creepy crawlies always attracts student attention. In this volume the reader will learn about more than twenty different bugs. Presented are the heaviest, the widest and the longest from all over the world. Some may be extinct, some are decades old and in museums or private collections. The table of contents lists the common name and the scientific order with the scientific name on the page with the description of the bug. A map shows where each bug lives and photographs depict their exact sizes. Older students may find the book useful in their biology pursuits. Libraries in need of a bug book of world records might find this historical overview helpful.
- Marilyn Teicher, Library Media Specialist, PS 86 Bronx, NY Library Media Connection 2011 05 01
This large attractive hardcover book will entice budding naturalists and world-record enthusiasts. This book is adorned with vivid colour photographs, numerous life-size images, quick fact boxes along with world map distributions of 21 record-breaking insects.... Visually this book is eye-catching with an attractive design structure of large headings with bug silhouettes, fact boxes and stunning photography. This book will make an attractive and information-packed addition to your insect section and definitely attract the "Guinness World Records" audience of the bug world. Avid insect enthusiasts and budding entomologists of all ages will find this book to be fascinating and informative. This book would be useful for scientific research of various insects in elementary school and middle years.
- Resource Links 2010 12 01
Beccaloni identifies the largest representative of major orders of insects, arachnids and myriapods. Each spread offers basic information plus a dramatic life-size photo and a small world map indicating the animal's range. Largest can mean heaviest, longest or those with the greatest wingspan. All will amaze browsers and encourage readers to search for additional information.
- Kathy Piehl School Library Journal 2011 05 01
