Kids LOVE bugs, right? Help them learn more by reading these best children’s books about insects, as well as other 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…
Best Children’s Books About Bugs (Insects)
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
Do 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 more 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
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 classrooms. 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 them 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!)
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.
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.
Insect Superpowers 18 Real Bugs that Smash, Zap, Hypnotize, Sting, and Devour! by Kate Messner, illustrated by Jillian Nickell
Stylized 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.
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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