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Any teen book that includes Shakespeare's plays as essentially a main character is one that I am going to appreciate. In this coming of age story, set in 1967, Holling Hoodhood initially believes that his exposure to Shakespeare is some sort of p

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Don't Squash That Bug!: The Curious Kid's Guide to Insects (Lobster Learners) by Natalie Rompella is a great introduction to insects that will keep your kids entertained and informed.

Here are a number of online resources where your child can learn even more about insects. This is just a small sampling of what's out there.

Insectclopedia
Various insect lesson plans from Grades K-12.

Tree of Life Web Project
From the site: The Tree of Life Web Project (ToL) is a collaborative effort of biologists from around the world. …the project provides information about the diversity of organisms on Earth, their evolutionary history (phylogeny), and characteristics.

Buginfo from the Smithsonian Institution
Information sheets on a variety of insects.

Helen's World of Nature Photography
Gorgeous photos of all kinds of insects and more.

Sci4Kids
Interesting articles from the USDA about insects such as, "Bug Gut Analysis: What's Eating You?" and "Got Insect Troubles? Call on a Spider!"

Enchanted Learning
Get lesson plans and lots of fun insect craft ideas. I like the Litter Bug and the Butterfly Wand .

Insects for Kids
A resource to a lot of different insect resources.

Don't Squash That Bug!: The Curious Kid's Guide to Insects (Lobster Learners) by Natalie Rompella

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Lobster Press (March 25, 2007)

As soon as you open up Don’t Squash That Bug!, you see life-sized photographs of all different types of bugs staring right at you—creepy crawly legs, wings, antenna, larvae. It’s all right there in the endsheets—a pretty cool start to a book all about bugs.

Don’t Squash That Bug! is a perfect introduction to insects and will appeal to many different types of readers. The book is organized into two-page spreads featuring a different order of insect on each spread.

A typical spread includes:

• The name, pronunciation, and description of the order in which the insects belong
• Vibrant, full-color photographs of the insects in that order, along with captions giving more information
• A paragraph or two giving details about the insects
• Country Cousin: A short section with information about similar insects found in another part of the world
• Don’t Squash That Bug! section: An explanation about how the insect is important
• Where Are They?: Information about where you can find the insect

Because the information is broken up into chunks, kids won’t be overwhelmed with too much information, and they can read the sections that interest them the most without having to wade through paragraphs full of text. Rompella does an excellent job of giving information about the insects without making it sound too academic or too difficult to read.

For example, “Cockroaches are omnivores, which means they eat plants and animals. They will even eat the glue on the backs of postage stamps.”

Without overwhelming you with messaging, Don’t Squash That Bug also helps us establish an appreciation for insects and their importance to the ecosystem.

This would make an outstanding library resource, and teachers will find it useful when creating and presenting lessons about insects. For parents of reluctant readers, this book would be an excellent choice, especially if your child is interested in all things creepy crawly.

Check out the other Nonfiction Monday submissions at Picture Book of the Day. Thanks Anastasia for organizing!