FACE BUG

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lewis, J. Patrick.  2013.  Face Bug.  Pennsylvania: Wordsong.  ISBN: 9781590789254.

PLOT SUMMARY
Are you ready for the grand opening of the Face Bug  Museum?  Ready or not...author J. Patrick Lewis is ready to introduce 14 intriguing bugs through some pretty funny poems.  He takes you through a grand tour of bugs by using some pretty close-up photographs of a Hickory Horned Devil, Eastern Carpenter Bee, Nursery Web Spider, Pearl Crescent Butterfly, American Horse Fly, and many more.  The author includes some helpful text features: On Exhibit page tells what page to find each bug.  The photographs along with fun illustrations helps the reader capture a true meaning of each bug.  The author also includes a section titled And Now A Word From Our Bugs that gives additional information like where they live, what they eat, how they grow, and what eats me. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The author uses rhyming text and humor to catch the readers interest.  The catchy rhyming words in the following piece is fun and enjoyable to read.  The author uses text that allows the reader to create mental images of what this bug had, feels, and smells like.  

P.U.! I found an insect
Who has uncommon scents.
Hello there, Mrs. Stinkbug,
My nose is your defense.

It was not my favorite poetry book.  I think older kids will enjoy this information more so than an early elementary student. 

AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS
2014-15 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List
2014 National Council of Teachers of English Notable Poetry List
Bank Street College of Education's Best Book of the Year (Poetry Category)

"There will be many returns to the Face Bug Museum as this book has so much to offer. Wonderfully conceived and executed."--School Library Journal

"Bugs get a close-up in this new book of poetry that shows off their thousands of eyes, bucktooth incisors, prickly exteriors and more. Frederic B. Siskind's wonderfully creepy full-color photographs and Kelly Murphy's cartoony black-and-white illustrations are abuzz with activity alongside J. Patrick Lewis's witty verses about insects and spiders. Some bugs are cleverly camouflaged, while others flaunt their colors, but they all have something worth celebrating, even the slimy-seeming Eastern Dobsonfly. . . " -- The Washington Post

CONNECTIONS
1) The students can write their own bug poems.
2) Make a bug using recyclable household items and write a descriptive paragraph about your bug.
3) Research a bug from the book.  Find the following information about your bug: habitat, what does it eat, predators, bug measurements, characteristics, and survival skills. 
4) Take a nature walk and have the students collect bugs.  Once in the classroom the students can observe them using magnifying glasses.