Insects: Biggest! Littlest!

A Hercules beetle can be more than two inches long, and a pea aphid can fit on the head of a pin. How does it help one insect to be big? How does it help another insect to be little?

Young readers will discover huge mandibles, tiny bumps, and other amazing adaptations that enable each kind of insect to carve out its own place in nature. Here are twenty-one six-legged wonders from around the world—from the Giant Stick Insect of Borneo to North America’s Western Pygmy Blue Butterfly, with a wingspan of just one-half inch. One insect is huge. Another is tiny. One has big eyes. Another has bunches of small, stiff hairs. Readers will learn how each of these traits—big or little—helps a particular type of insect find food, avoid enemies, or fight for mates.

Sandra Markle, a widely respected author of children’s books, teams up with scientist and photographer Simon Pollard to give kids a fun and exciting introduction to some of the world’s strangest insects and how they survive. The simple text and stunning full-color photographs will give young readers new insights into the amazing survival skills of the world’s most fascinating creatures.