Sheri M. Bestor

I'm not sure how I missed these excellent collaborations between Bestor and Lambert, but I'm catching up now!

Bestor's cheerful text starts with little walking stick eggs tumbling to the ground where they are buried beneath the snow and guarded by ants. In spring, little green walking sticks wiggle out and start their munching. The reader follows one particular walking stick as she eats, grows, molts, and grows again. When predators show up, she blends into the tree. "Good trick, walking stick!" She shows off many different ways she defends and camouflages herself until she lays her eggs and another generation of walking sticks are ready to perform their tricks.

The simple, read-aloud text is combined with longer paragraphs for older children explaining how and why the ants care for the walking stick eggs, how walking sticks molt, and other aspects of their lives. Lambert's colorful collages show walking sticks in an array of greens and browns delicately walking through a green forest.

Verdict: This combines the best of easy nonfiction; text that makes a great read-aloud and attractive illustrations that are accurate enough to identify the flora and fauna in real life. A strong addition to nature collections and nonfiction storytimes.

ISBN: 9781585369430; Published 2016 by Sleeping Bear Press; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library… (plus d'informations)

I really like Jonny Lambert's soft but vibrant collaged colors; they make me think of a more pastel Eric Carle. This book combines his lovely art with a fact-filled look at a fascinating insect - the dragonfly!

The end pages show a vivid green pond with fish, lily pads, and cattails. We first meet the green darner dragonfly in spring, as it migrates. Simple text runs along the top of the page while lengthier explanations are tucked at the bottom. As readers follow the dragonflies' journey, they will see them lay eggs, hatch into nymphs, molt and grow, and finally crawl out of the water and hatch into a dragonfly. As a dragonfly, the male shows off his flying skills, catches insects, mates, and migrates.

From the detailed text, readers will learn the meaning of "migrate," "predator," and several other terms. It isn't clear from the text if all of the characteristics refer to green darner dragonflies, or if some other abilities (like dragonflies changing color to cool off) were woven in from other species. This also demonstrates my frustration with nonfiction books that focus on the male of the species with no clear delineation between the sexes - it starts with the females laying eggs, then a male hatches, but it's not clear if the males migrate, since they wouldn't be laying eggs, apparently a prime reason for migrating. Which leads to another item of confusion - it says the dragonflies migrate to lay eggs, but has them laying eggs when they return from migration at the beginning.

Verdict: So, it's not perfect. However, it's a great introduction to an interesting insect that's often overlooked and which many children can see at a local pond or other body of water. The multiple levels of text make it accessible to many ages and reading abilities. A good starting point for kids interested in insects and dragonflies.

ISBN: 9781585364107; Published March 2019 by Sleeping Bear Press; Borrowed from another library in my consortium… (plus d'informations)