Insectlopedia
      This short collection, consisting of twenty-one poems, is really an homage to insects and spiders.  The author remarkably brings readers into the world of insects by giving them an insight into their world and showing them their way of life. Young readers will enjoy learning that a giant waterbug carries the female�s eggs on its back (�But does he ever get a card or gift for Father�s Day?�) and that the monarch butterfly has an unpleasant taste to predators due to its venom. �He is a monarch, he is a duke. Swallows that swallow him,  frequently
puke." Each poem is both lyrical and comical, yet educational and easy to understand.  The poems are written in a straightforward manner, yet they offer enough depth to allow teachers to present play on words and perhaps a bit of symbolism, should their students be ready for it.  Some poems are best presented in concrete style, and Douglas Florian displays his knowledge of poetry by choosing just the right poems for this style.  Among these are: The Inchworm, The Whirligig Beetles, and The Termites.  He also does a wonderful job of giving these otherwise creepy bugs, very endearing qualities.  An example of this is seen in �The Daddy Longlegs� where its own child seems to be asking how he got those legs to grow so very long (�From spiderobic exercise?�).
          Equally creative, endearing, and comical are the illustrations, entirely created by the author himself.  A personal favorite is the one representing the poem �The Crickets� in which they are portrayed as smiling, violin-shaped musicians.  The text in the poem says, �You don�t need tickets to listen to crickets.  They chirp and cheep for free.� For �The Mosquitoes�, he created a painting featuring two mosquitoes feeding on a human arm and organizing their collection of blood in vases labeled A, B, AB, and O. �Mosquitoes are thin. Mosquitoes are rude. They feast on your skin for take-out food.�
         All in all, this collection of poems and paintings is one which will change the way children and adults view insects.

Florian, Douglas. 1998. Insectlopedia. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0-15
          201306-7.
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