Insectlopedia entertainingly educates children about a medley of bugs and their scientifically correct roles in the environment.  Douglas Florian creatively and wittily entertains children with his clever poems about familiar insects such as ants, grasshoppers, and walking sticks, and introduces less known critters such as treehoppers, mayflies and io moths. 

A perfectly delightful way to introduce children to more complex forms of poetry, Florian uses an assortment of patterns including everything from simple rhyming narrative poems in The Praying Mantis ("Upon a twig/I sit and pray/For something big/To wend my way (16)") to concrete poems in The Inchworm, where the poem is presented in the shape of an actual worm (14).  His poems practically beg to be read aloud with his use of whimsical and rhythmic language such as "O Daddy/ Daddy O/ How'd you get/ Those legs to grow." And one can't help but laugh at his witty pun in this poem when he asks if their legs came "From spiderobic/ exercise (10)?" The frequent use of puns and clever humor keep the pages turning and eyes reading. 

Accompanied by creatively wonderful illustrations, Florian displays his sense of humor when he depicts crickets strumming violins and a patient preying mantis reading while waiting for his prey.  Often camouflaged in the collages, children will enjoy seeking out the insects such as the walking stick and io moth as much as reading the poetry. He uses these watercolors to add the perfect topping to pesky poetry that will amuse readers of all ages.