Mosquito Bite

by Alexandra Siy, Alexandra Siy

"READY-OR-NOT-HERE-I-COME."

The boy listens.
The girl is getting closer.
Suddenly, there's another sound.
A droning buzz.
Something else is looking for the boy.

The seeker is a mosquito, Culex pipiens, and her search is a matter of life and death. She must find food—blood—to nourish the hundreds of tiny eggs inside her body.

Black-and-white photographs show the children's game of hide-and-seek, while astonishing micrographs show Culex and her world as seen through an electron microscope. Zoom in for a close-up view: A blade of grass looks like a menacing field of spines. A mosquito's eye becomes a bundle of tightly packed tubes.

Discover the life story of a mosquito from a truly larger-than-life point of view.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Nature, Juvenile

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Alexandra Siy is a science writer for kids, merging STEM and art to make STEAM! Many of her titles use primary source scientific imagery to reveal both outer space and the microscopic, inviting young readers to enter worlds that can only be visited using science and technology. Worlds where spiders are superheroes, insects are much more than bugly, a simple sneeze is a micro-second adventure through the body, and the interstellar age is now. Alexandra is also a photographer and the creator of instastem.com, a STEM inspired photography workshop that gets kids reading writing, and creating their own science-as-art photographs. As a visiting author, she travels to schools and libraries nationwide, sharing her passion for science, books, and photography. She's also worked as a teacher in diverse communities, including Alaska and Colorado. Alexandra lives in New York State on her 73-acre sustainable family forest with her teenage son and their cat.

Reviews

[Darlene Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much information, but it's delivered in small bites. There are small colored insets of magnified grass and rose petals before introducing the mosquito and all its parts enlarged. The illustrations are a feast for the eyes. All the information is presented in the context of kids playing hide and seek out in the yard.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting read on mosquitoes and the enlarged microscopic pictures really pull the reader into the book to see the world as the mosquito does.

[Gerardo Mendoza-Tovar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written by Alexandra Siy and illustrations by Dennis Kunkel. This book was very interesting and fun to read. It is about the life of a mosquito and what it needs to do to survive in the world. This book is read like it as a story of a mosquito not just informational. It includes human children playing and what the mosquitoes must do to survive using them. It makes learning about mosquitoes enjoyable and easy to get into and not be boring. For example, there is a picture of a boy playing on one page and on the next it is showing the stage in life the mosquito is in and that it needs to get blood from the boy.
I would recommend this book to young children because it is very engaging and the vocabulary isn't very high, but the author almost goes too in depth about the anatomy of the mosquito. The illustrations are very creative and makes the reader keep on reading because of them. I would recommend this book to students from kindergarten through 5th grade. The book is great because it gives children a sense of how a mosquito maintains themselves. So I would mainly use this book in my classroom to inform the students a little bit about the science of a mosquito and other insects.

Siy, A. (2005). Mosquito Bite. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publising.

[Karen Sterling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although intended for an elementary audience, there is plenty for my middle schoolers to learn from this slim edition about that bane of the summer months - the blood-sucking mosquito. Though some of the design decisions made the reading a bit more difficult than it needed to be (white text over a black and white photograph is tough to read), the micrography later in the book provides spectacular pictures that allow the reader to follow the textual explanations of a mosquitoe's deverlopment stages in all its gory horror.

This would be a great choice for anyone looking for the benefits of electron miscroscopes.

The inclusion of websites, an index, and a glossary make this a great jumping off point for curious young researchers. Highly recommended.

[Steven Buruato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swat! Swat! Smack!!! Got It!!!
Mosquito Bite is a non-fiction book about mosquitoes. It explains their life cycle and how they obtain their nutrients. The graphics could have been a little bit to much with the detail they go into. This book can be used for several worksheets that follow the book to make sure the students understood what they were reading. For example, on one page it is a drawing of a male mosquito and his different body parts. The end of the book has more information about mosquitoes which could really help start a new science lesson and other things. I enjoyed this book.

[Kaylee Mercer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ew. This book was very gross but informative. Did you know that a mosquito is called Culex Pipens when it is first born and is in a worm shape until emerged into a mosquito? The worm-like culex pipens lives in murky waters until it is old enough to collect food. And do you know what food mosquitos eat? Human blood! Gross, right?! When they bite your neck, they insert their knife like antennas into your skin to suck out the blood. You are then left with an itch and a "mosquito bite". The book is very scientific and informative. I thought the book was cool, just too gross for my liking.

This book could be used in the classroom when discussing seasons like summer or insects.

[Olivia Rodgers]

This book is about the life of a mosquito. It shows what mosquitoes do each day in order to survive and gives information about them. What I liked about this book is that it was non-fiction but did not seem like it. As the book is giving information about the book it is also showing a boy and girl playing hide a seek and how the humans have no idea what a mosquito is doing when they live their lives. This book could be used in a science class of some sort to teach about mosquitoes and show how we may not see them but they see us and how they work to survive each day.

[Melissa Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

The clever format of this book inluces two interwoven storylines--one from the human point of view (illustrated with b& w photos)and one that's all mosquito (illustrated with stunningly beautiful micrographs). As a group of kids play hide-and-go seek at dusk, the threat of mosquito bite is close at hand. Learn why mosquitoes need mammal blood and discover the hidden world of the tiny insects with an annoying buzz. Great book.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to believe that mosquitos could be intriguing, but this book makes it so. An extensive collection of photographs (standard, macro, and microscopic) show the surprising beauty and impressive anatomy of a mosquito. The text is scientifically accurate without overwhelming. The only problem is that color contrast/backgrounds on text make reading more difficult at times, and can even lead to text being overlooked or ignored in places.

[Alixis Waltrip · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mosquito Bite is a non-fiction book about mosquitoes. It explains their life cycle and how they obtain their nutrients. I did not like the graphic detail of the boy having his blood sucked from the mosquito, but certain pages would be good to use as a worksheet in class. For example, on one page it is a drawing of a male mosquito and his different body parts. The end of the book has more information about mosquitoes which I found more interesting than the actual book.

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains cool enlarged photographs of mosquitoes and other garden life as well as a detailed description of the life cycle of a mosquito.

I read this book with my students each year when we discuss the building of the Panama Canal and the yellow fever and malaria epidemics that struck the construction teams.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 3 out of 5]

The microscopic photos were interesting, but the text did not hold my attention. I do think, however, that many readers in my classes will find it interesting. I considered donating the book to our science teacher.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent nonfiction!!! It takes you through the life cycle of a mosquito in a storylike fashion. The photos are remarkable!!! My 7-year old scientist ate this one up. For sure we'll be revisiting it.

[Sena · Rating 1 out of 5]

If it were posible I would give it a -100. HATED the book.

[Briony · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting read. I learned some new things about mosquitos that I did not know before.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The electron microscope images are breathtaking! A mosquito never looked so good. And I loved how the information is presented through a hide and seek story.

[Karen Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent example of nonfiction for children.

[Sara Taylor-hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great pictures. Primary students would love this descriptive book

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a faction book about the parts of a mosquito. Great book for a science class.

[Olivia Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a detailed book about the mosquito. It highlights the different parents of a mosquito. It also explains what happens when a mosquito bites a human. It is something you would find on a show like animal planet. This would be a good book in the classroom when learning about insects.