Bug stories for toddlers

20 of the Best Bug and Insect Books for Kids

Here are some of the best bug and insect books for your kids. Your kids will love these selections. Use them in your class library, in your science area, or at circle time.

Are you looking for some books for your insects and bugs theme unit or lesson plan?  Here are some insect books for kids that would be great additions to your library.

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Little Kids First Big Book of Bugs

This book has stunning photographs and facts about a variety of creepy crawlies. It’s a great non-fiction addition to your classroom library.

The Beeman

This is a great book about honey bees and beekeeping that is both informative and fun.

Are You a Ladybug? 

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to be a ladybug?  This beautiful book will help kids understand the life cycle of one of my favorite little insects.

Are You a Butterfly?

This is a beautiful, fact-filled book that will teach your kids about the life cycle of butterflies.

Are You an Ant?

Learn lots of interesting facts about ants with this one.

Are You a Bee?

A great book to help kids learn about bees.  It has simple descriptions and great illustrations.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a must-read classic.  Note that a butterfly does not spin a cocoon, but instead forms a chrysalis.  I always like to point this fact out as I read.

The Grouch Ladybug

The little ladybug in this book learns that being grouchy isn’t always the best option.  This book will help introduce manners and will promote discussion about social behavior.

In the Tall, Tall Grass

Denise Fleming provides vibrant illustrations and rhythmic text as she takes your kids on a tour of the backyard.  This book might inspire them to explore their own backyard to find all kinds of creatures.

Waiting for Wings

Lois Ehlert’s bright illustrations will captivate your kids.  The simple story tells the story of a butterfly’s life cycle.

Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! 

This is an adorable book with brightly colored collage illustrations.  A bug chart at the back provides real-world comparisons so that readers know exactly how big each bug is.  The book also includes a chart with fun facts such as the number of legs, where the bugs live, whether they fly, and if they sting.

The Bug Book

This is a great bug book with wonderful photographs and fun rhymes……”Fast bugs, slow bugs, off they go bugs.”

Bugs A to Z 

This book combines fantastic photographs, interesting bug facts, and ABC’s.

Beetle Bop

The rhythmic text and gorgeous artwork in this book make it a fun way to learn about beetles.  This is a great circle time book….and a favorite of mine.

Monarch Butterfly

Follow the life cycle of the monarch butterfly in this beautifully illustrated book.

A Butterfly is Patient

The lyrical text, phenomenal illustrations, and butterfly facts are combined into a beautiful book about butterflies.  Each page begins with “A butterfly is….” sentence then includes 2-4 fact sentences.  The book can easily be adapted for kids with shorter attention spans by reading fewer facts.

The Best Bug Parade

This is a great bug-themed book that will also help children learn size relationships.   Although the book is without a plot, it will promote discussions about

• Big, bigger, biggest
• Small, smaller, smallest
• Long, longer, longest.
• Short, shorter, shortest.

I hope that this list of insect books for kids helps you out. Do you have some favorite books that you use during your insects and bugs study? I would love to hear about them.  Check out these additional books for preschoolers.

Are you looking for additional insect-themed activities?  Check out the following resources in my store:

Best Children's Books About Bugs (Insects)

Kids LOVE bugs, right? Help them learn more about insects by reading these best children’s books about insects and non-insects bugs like worms and arachnids.

If your kids don’t love bugs yet, maybe these books will get them interested.

Also, it’s always good to get hands-on. Observe insects in nature. Make a worm garden. (Those are fun!) Use a microscope to investigate safe bugs close up. Play Guess What Bug with plastic bugs. That sort of thing…

Heads and Tails: Insects by John Canty
Clues in typewriter text prompt readers to think before they turn the page to find the right insect. Then watercolor, pen and ink illustrations, and large text give the answers. Answers like grasshopper, mosquito, praying mantis, and more. Engaging and playful.

Some Bugs by Angela DiTerlizzi, illustrated by Brendan Wenzel
Simple text and lovely illustrations peak young readers’ interest in bugs. Some bugs bite, some stink, and some roll in a ball. It’s a great introduction to the creepy, crawly natural world.

The Spider by Elise Gravel
Easy to read with cartoon-like illustrations, beginning readers can learn a lot from this funny early reader book. I love how Gravel makes nonfiction come alive.

The Fly by Elise Gravel D
o you know there are more than 100,000 species of flies? Appealing conversational language and funny illustrations entrance readers as they learn all about the fly.

Little Kids First Big Book of Bugs by Catherine D. Hughes Learn all about the most popular backyard bugs like butterflies, ladybugs, and lightning bugs. Gorgeous photography throughout.

Bugs A to Z by Caroline Lawton
Bright photographs with clear text give readers plenty to read from A for ant to Z for Zebra tarantulas.

The Big Book of Bugs by Yuval Zoomer
Whimsical illustrated bugs dance across the pages paired with simple information text. This book is written in a conversational way with plenty of questions so that children engage with the content.

Icky Bug Alphabet by Jerry Pallotta, illustrated by Ralph Masiello
Don’t you love icky bugs? Use this book to inspire learning about insects, or to write your own alphabet book by theme!

My Nature Sticker Activity Book: Butterflies of the World by Olivia Cosneau
Learn about butterflies with information and interactive sticker activities.

The Bug Book by Sue Fliess
The bugs fly, creep, and twirl through the pages of this fun rhyming book. Great photographs perfectly capture the bugs’ adventures.

Bee and Me by Alison Jay
This is a beautiful wordless picture book about a girl who befriends a bee. She and her bee friend spread pollen for beautiful flowers around the city so that even when the bee must leave, the girl can always remember her friend through the flowers. Use this to start a discussion about bees and what they do for the world. (See wordless picture books and literacy activities here.)

Hello, Little One: A Monarch Butterfly Story by Zeena M. Pliska, illustrated by Fiona Halliday
Not only is this a brilliant circular story that shows the circular life cycle but it’s a sweet friendship story, too. The caterpillar meets a butterfly who tells him all about the world and then must say goodbye. Written in first person with vivid verbs and evocative illustrations, this is an essential picture book for the classroom. “I am graceful and beautiful. I can flit, flutter, and fly.“

I, Fly The Buzz About Flies and How Awesome They Are by Bridget Heos, illustrated by Jennifer Plecas

I liked this picture book with comic dialogue about the oft-neglected fly. You see, kids always study butterflies and rarely know that flies metamorphose, too. Now Fly wants you to know more about him! Flies are quite interesting — they make noise, they have big families, and help solve crimes.

We Dig Worms! by Kevin McCloskey
I love, love, love this early reader book! It’s a Toon Book Early Reader so you know from the get-go that it’s going to be cartoon images, but you won’t know how the author makes worms seem so fascinating. He does this with eye-popping illustrations and one sentence of text per page that explain something about worms.

Egg to Bee LifeCycles by Camilla de la Bedoyere
Large pages, colorful photographs, oversized print, bolded vocabulary words, and interesting information make this a good addition to any elementary classroom. You’ll learn about the bees, hive, laying eggs, growing and eating, queen, and more. This is just one in the new easy nonfiction picture books in the LifeCycles series.

Hello Honeybees by Hannah Rogge, illustrated by Emily Dove
Kids will love attached bees that can buzz through this hive-shaped shaped board book! Narrated by the bees, your young naturalists will learn about sipping the flower’s nectar, doing the waggle dance, and making honey.

When the Bees Buzzed Off! by Lula Bell, illustrated by Stephen Bennett
The bugs are panicked because they can’t find the bees. They search and search everywhere for the bees who pollinate plants which hungry bugs like to eat. Silly conversations filled with personality pepper their search as well as lift-the-flaps to learn information about bees. Soon Worm, Snail, and Beetle are almost ready to give up — until they finally find the bees in a field of flowers. To get the bees back to their garden, the bugs collect wildflower seeds and plant them…and the bees come back! Kids will resonate with these charming bugs’ search as well as learn the importance of bees in the world.

Step Gently Out, by Helen Frost and Rick Lieder The tiny insects become magnified in Lieder’s gorgeous close-up photography: an ant dangling off a small green stem, the geometric, translucent wings of a dragonfly, and a bee suspended mid-flight. The poetic verse whispers love for the simpleness of nature.

Step gently out,

be still, and watch a single blade of grass.

 
How to Survive as a Firefly by Kristen Foote, illustrated by Erica Salcedo
My kids love this book! Hear from a firefly everything you need to know to go from larvae to adulthood. The conversational tone engages readers into learning without it being boring. “Did you enjoy your month as an egg, relaxing in the dirt? Good! Because you have LOTS of work to do if you want to make it to the pupa stage, let a lone become an adult Photinus pyralis firefly! Yes?” Fun facts sprinkle throughout this very informative book. You’re going to love the super cute cartoon-like illustrations with text in conversation bubbles.

Just Like Us! ANTS by Bridget Heos, illustrated by David Clark A mix of cartoons and illustrations, this is a visual feast for the eyes! Then read the text all about ants. So cool and so much information! (Start your own Ant Farm after reading this!)

Strange Nature: The Insect Portraits of Levon Biss by Gregory Mone, photographs by Levon Biss Stunning photographs labeled with information about cool insects like the tiger beetle, mantis-fly, and the Orchid Cuckoo Bee accompany kid-friendly informational writing with the perfect amount of text to keep readers learning and engaged. Read where each insect lives, their size, the most important information about the insect. You’ll love this bug book because both the photos and the writing are AMAZING.

 
Caterpillar and Bean A First Science Storybook by Martin Jenkins, illustrated by Hannah Tolson
This is the story of a seed wedged in a crack in the ground that swells with the rain. See how the root pushes out the shoots and leaves. This is also the story of a caterpillar who hatches from an egg, eats and eats the leaves of the plant, and turns into a beautiful butterfly. You’ll enjoy the enthusiastic, lyrical story which develops several naturalist topics including seed and plant growth and the life cycle of a butterfly in this latest nonfiction picture book in Martin Jenkin’s First Science Storybook series.

Moth & Butterfly by Dev Petty, illustrated by Ana Aranda
Two good caterpillar friends with a lot in common go through the amazing process of metamorphosis. Then they pop out of their cocoons– one, a butterfly, and the other, a moth. Now they have new differences. Butterfly’s wings are colorful and Moth’s are beige. Butterfly flies during the day and Moth flies at night. Even still, some things are still the same — they still have cool moves and a good friendship.

Worlds Strangest Creepy-Crawlies Top 40 Weird and Wonderful Hair-Raising Bugs
Big, bold text and huge color photographs catch your attention immediately starting with #40, the elephant beetle and ending with #1, the exploding ant. Huh!? Yes, this ant from Malaysia explodes and dies — yikes! Each bug featured gets a 1- or 2-page spread including important facts, a habitat map, photographs, and ratings on the “strangeometer” for creepiness, superpowers, bug beauty, and fight factor. Irresistible!

Bee by David Hawcock and Lee Montgomery
This is a short, fun, and factual lift-the-flap, pop-up book.

The Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins Discover the world of beetles, the many different sizes and shapes as well as their behaviors, life cycles, communication, and more. Jenkins illustrations of beetles are eye-catching.

Yucky Worms by Vivian French, illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg
The cover and illustrations drew me into this picture book; the writing kept me reading. Learn how important worms are to the growing plants as well as the danger worms face.

Illumibugs: Explore the world of minibeasts with your magic 3 color lens by Carnovsky, illustrated by Barbara Taylor
Hold up the detachable color lens up to the colorful illustrations organized by continent, and you’ll see bugs POP out and off the pages! Informational text pages in black and white provide more information on each bug so readers can learn about the bugs they see. FUN!

Fly Guy Presents Scary Creatures! by Tedd Arnold
Get 5 books in 1 in this large-sized book filled with these level 2 titles: Sharks, Dinosaurs, Insects, Bats, and Snakes. Fly Guy and Buzz visit places like the aquarium or the museum to learn about different creatures. Colorful drawings and photographs illustrate the topics about which they’re learning with an appealing layout. The text of facts and conversation bubbles are just-right and comprehensible for growing readers.

 
Insect Superpowers 18 Real Bugs that Smash, Zap, Hypnotize, Sting, and Devour! by Kate Messner, illustrated by Jillian Nickell
Styled to look like a comic book of superhero action with oversized pictures and the occasional large comic-style typeface of smack! pow! and chomp! impress upon the reader just how super these superbugs are. Bugs like the Green tiger beetle, the fastest of all insects. Messner shares the must-know basics (name, size, hideout, superpower) then launches into fascinating details about each including what they eat (favorite foods) and who eats them (archenemies). Action-filled cartoon panels show a bug stalking and then devouring its food. Interesting insets of information narrate more facts about each insect. What kid could resist reading this enthralling tome!?

BUGS! Animal Planet Amazing Animal Facts Chapter Books by James Buckley, Jr.

What a fantastic beginning chapter book. It’s full-color with photographs, illustrations, and a kid-friendly design. The text size itself is perfect for elementary readers, slightly bigger than typical nonfiction books of this length with decent white space in between the lines and around it. I’m impressed with the way this book series delivers factual information without dumbing it down or making it too difficult to read.

 
Paint by Sticker Kids Beautiful Bugs I’ve already done one of these myself, they’re so fun! (But I wish my fingers were kid-sized so it would be a bit easier. ) However, these are meant for kids so I suppose I better share… The sticker bugs are like a paint by number only with stickers. Look on the sticker page for the correct number. Then match it to the spot on the bug illustration. The book has perforated pages making tearing out the sticker page and the art easy. Would your kids like this sticker book?

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Insect stories for preschoolers

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Insect stories for preschoolers

Details

Author: Galina Obnorskaya

Category: Reading

Rating: 5 / 5

These short stories about insects, like others, were written for children with attention and memory problems.

It is difficult for them to listen to long stories, to remember and retell them as well.

Nature stories are most suitable for the gradual development of self-control and learning to work with a book. It is useful to combine working with text with crafts from different materials, drawing.

Insect stories

The author of informative stories about insects is Galina Obnorskaya, a child psychologist.

Why do bees dance

The honey bee has a family. It's called Roy. Sisters - bees live together. The bee will find a lot of honey, tell the rest.

She can't speak! It just buzzes. It's true, he can't speak, but he can dance.

Bee's dance is simple. She flies in a circle or in a figure eight, buzzes loudly and wags her belly. As if saying:

- I found a lot of honey! Follow me quickly.

Questions.

1. Why is a bee called a honey bee?
2. What is the name of the bee family?
3. How does a bee transmit information to other bees?
4. Name the bee affectionately.
5. How to call a very large bee, very small? ..
6. Whose wings does the bee have?

Dragonfly

Dragonflies live near water: rivers, streams, lakes. The dragonfly flies very fast, deftly dodges. The speed is such that a person rushing on a bicycle can catch up.

Dragonflies are hunters. They have excellent eyesight. Dragonflies fly like helicopters over water in search of prey. Their prey are small mosquitoes, midges. A large dragonfly attacks smaller dragonflies. Does not disdain a caterpillar.

When a dragonfly flies, it folds its legs into a house. It turns out to be a trap. A mosquito gaped and got into the house from her tenacious paws. The dragonfly immediately sends it into the mouth.

Dragonflies are beautiful insects. Take care of them. They decorate nature.

Questions.

1. Where do dragonflies live?
2. What do they eat?
3. How does a dragonfly hunt?
4. Name a dragonfly affectionately.
5. How to call a very large dragonfly, very small? ..
6. Whose wings does the dragonfly have?

Ladybug

The small ladybug beetle is known to everyone. She has two rigid and strong wings of yellow, orange or red color with black dots. And under them soft wings are hidden.

Top wings for protection. Lower wings for flight. It is necessary for the ladybug to fly, the upper wings rise, the lower ones straighten out, and the beetle flies.

Don't hurt the ladybug. She is a true friend and helper. Pests - aphids - settle on plants in the garden and in greenhouses. Aphids suck juices from leaves. The leaves dry up, curl up and fall off.

A ladybug eats aphids to save plants. Ladybugs are specially bred and released into gardens. There she fights aphids, helping people.

Questions.

1. Why does a ladybug need different wings?
2. What does the beetle eat?
3. How do aphids harm plants?

Ants

During the warm season, ants can be found everywhere. They run about their ant affairs back and forth. They seem so small and stupid. In fact, ants are smart insects. Their brain works like a powerful computer. That's what the scientists say.

Ants are strong insects. An ant lifts a load 50 times heavier than itself.

The little ant won't be offended. He sprays the offenders with formic acid. Formic acid is caustic. It even causes burns.

People are not afraid of formic acid. But you can’t touch the ants, ruin the anthills. Ants are beneficial insects in the forest.

Questions.

1. What is the name of the ant house?
2. How does the ant's brain work?
3. What does an ant spray on offenders?
4. Name an ant affectionately.
5. How to call a very large ant, very small? ..
6. Whose head does the ant have?

Mukha

Everyone knows the fly. She is mean and annoying. Buzzing, buzzing.

The fly has six legs and four wings.

Transparent wings. Two front wings for flight. Hind wings for balance in flight. They are called bugs.

The fly has Velcro on its feet. They help the fly crawl even upside down.

The fly carries various diseases. She crawls everywhere, and dirt with microbes sticks to her paws. A fly will crawl over a clean place and leave microbes on it.

Questions.

1. Where does the fly live?
2. What are the wings of a fly?
3. Why can a fly crawl upside down?
4. Why does a fly carry various diseases?
5. Name the fly affectionately.
6. How to call a very large fly, very small? ..

Butterflies

Butterflies are the beauty of nature. There are many around. Butterfly colors are different. It pleases our eyes.

Butterflies are small and large. Their body is covered with small scales.

Butterflies feed on the nectar of flowers. They drink it with their proboscis. In spring, when there are still few flowers, butterflies drink birch or maple sap.

Questions

1. What color are the butterflies?
2. What size are they?
3. What is the body of butterflies covered with?
4. What do butterflies eat?

Mosquito

Guess the riddle: "Grey. With two wings. It flies - it rings. It bites painfully." The mosquito has a mustache and a proboscis on its head. The mosquito makes no sound. The ringing comes from mosquito wings. A mosquito flies, and its wings rattle thinly. It makes a call.

We don't like mosquitoes. A mosquito will sit on a person or animal, pierce the skin with its proboscis and drink the blood. Poisonous mosquito saliva will get under the skin. Because of this poison, the bite site itches for a long time. Mosquitoes fly to heat. In the evenings and at night, warm animals are easier to find. Only mosquitoes bite us. And mosquitoes drink flower nectar. Their proboscis is very thin. They will not bite through thick human skin and animal skin.

Questions

1. How many wings does a mosquito have?
2. What sound does a mosquito make when it flies?
3. Where does this sound come from?
4. What do mosquitoes eat?
5. How do mosquitoes find who to bite?
6. Why does the bite site itch and itch for a long time?
7. Name a mosquito affectionately.
8. How to call a very large mosquito, very small? ..
9. Whose wings does a mosquito have?

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Short stories about insects for children 5-6 years old

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