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Nature Heroes #2
Bella Loves Bugs: A Fact-filled Nature Adventure Bursting with Bugs! (Volume 2)
Bella Loves Bugs tells the story of a day in the life of a girl who is passionate about bugs, as she goes off to Forest School where she always has many creepy-crawly adventures with her fellow nature hero friends!
The book is packed with facts about bugs, some of which Bella regularly spots, but also includes the bugs she dreams about seeing one day—different insects from all over the world.
Bella makes a magical moth trap, spies a butterfly laying an egg, and shows her friends how to hop like a grasshopper! Follow Bella as she shares her love of bugs—discover how many bugs might be lurking in a pond, see how awesome ants are, and be amazed by mighty stag beetles.
With an engaging and lively narrative from Jess French and fun and warm illustrations from Duncan Beedie, this book will help ignite a love and appreciation for nature, right on our doorsteps.
The Nature Heroes series focuses on a group of friends who are passionate about nature and the great outdoors. Each book features a different child who has a favorite topic that they are fascinated by: Billy Loves Birds, Bella Loves Bugs, Ava Loves Animals, and Pedro Loves the Planet!
Playful text and funny relatable illustrations makes this an accessible series, which provides an entertaining introduction to the natural world.
The book is packed with facts about bugs, some of which Bella regularly spots, but also includes the bugs she dreams about seeing one day—different insects from all over the world.
Bella makes a magical moth trap, spies a butterfly laying an egg, and shows her friends how to hop like a grasshopper! Follow Bella as she shares her love of bugs—discover how many bugs might be lurking in a pond, see how awesome ants are, and be amazed by mighty stag beetles.
With an engaging and lively narrative from Jess French and fun and warm illustrations from Duncan Beedie, this book will help ignite a love and appreciation for nature, right on our doorsteps.
The Nature Heroes series focuses on a group of friends who are passionate about nature and the great outdoors. Each book features a different child who has a favorite topic that they are fascinated by: Billy Loves Birds, Bella Loves Bugs, Ava Loves Animals, and Pedro Loves the Planet!
Playful text and funny relatable illustrations makes this an accessible series, which provides an entertaining introduction to the natural world.
48 pages, Hardcover
Published April 19, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 26, 2022
A fun-fact kind of fun, informative read about different bugs with basic colourful illustrations which I feel is quite educational for the young readers.
Love the presentation. It's minimal, clean and cute as well.
Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group Frances Lincoln Children's, for the advance reading copy.
Love the presentation. It's minimal, clean and cute as well.
Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group Frances Lincoln Children's, for the advance reading copy.
April 21, 2022
What a cute way to discover bugs!
This was a pretty illustrated book about Bella who goes out and explores the different types of bugs there is.
You get to know what to have with you on a trip out, such a scrapbook and an ID guide. Throughout the book you get to see different types of bugs, everything from ants, to beetles, and so much more. It’s like an adventure in the book!
I’d recommend this to bug lovers, children (and adults!) who are curious about bugs (if you are an adult like me and want to see illustrated bugs, this is the one! Some bugs is scary, I’m going to admit that, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to learn more about them).
So yeah.
Happy reading!♥️
I got this book for free from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
This was a pretty illustrated book about Bella who goes out and explores the different types of bugs there is.
You get to know what to have with you on a trip out, such a scrapbook and an ID guide. Throughout the book you get to see different types of bugs, everything from ants, to beetles, and so much more. It’s like an adventure in the book!
I’d recommend this to bug lovers, children (and adults!) who are curious about bugs (if you are an adult like me and want to see illustrated bugs, this is the one! Some bugs is scary, I’m going to admit that, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to learn more about them).
So yeah.
Happy reading!♥️
I got this book for free from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
April 17, 2022
Kids, meet Bella. You will have lots of fun with her as you learn more about bugs. Join Bella as you learn about caterpillars, ants. bees, butterflies and more. There is a lot packed into this cheerily illustrated title.
I was very impressed by the quantity and quality of the information in this title. I highly recommend it to young entomologists and their adults.
Many thanks to Quarto-Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.
I was very impressed by the quantity and quality of the information in this title. I highly recommend it to young entomologists and their adults.
Many thanks to Quarto-Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.
April 20, 2022
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Bella Loves Bugs is a science based and adorably illustrated book on entomology for young readers (ca 4-7 years) by Dr. Jess French and Duncan Beedie. Released 19th April 2022 by Quarto on their Happy Yak imprint, it's 48 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats.
This is such a whimsical and charming book. I was impressed with the number of engaging facts and nature information crammed into the pages. The pages are set up in frames with text boxes explaining safety, equipment, how-to find and interact with insects and information relevant for both children and their caregivers/facilitators. Although the illustrations are drawn and there aren't photographs, species pictures are clear and specific enough for general identification.
The grouping of insects is also charming and logical for small kids. The author and illustrator have grouped them into "bees", "hopping insects", "pond creatures", "beetles" and so on. Scattered throughout are gentle reminders for readers about how they can help support, feed, and guard habitat so bugs will always be there. The book also includes a bit of info on other invertebrates (snails and slugs).
The collection details in the book emphasize catch and release and gentle observation. The author never mentions collecting for display, and there are no kill-jars or euthanasia details included.
For educators, the children in the book are ethnically diverse and main character Bella is a little girl with friends who are both male and female. It's refreshing to see a wide variety of representation. It's never emphasized in the text, but it is there.
Five stars. This would be a good choice for public or school library acquisition, classroom use, or the home library.
Disclosure: I received a pre-release recording at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Bella Loves Bugs is a science based and adorably illustrated book on entomology for young readers (ca 4-7 years) by Dr. Jess French and Duncan Beedie. Released 19th April 2022 by Quarto on their Happy Yak imprint, it's 48 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats.
This is such a whimsical and charming book. I was impressed with the number of engaging facts and nature information crammed into the pages. The pages are set up in frames with text boxes explaining safety, equipment, how-to find and interact with insects and information relevant for both children and their caregivers/facilitators. Although the illustrations are drawn and there aren't photographs, species pictures are clear and specific enough for general identification.
The grouping of insects is also charming and logical for small kids. The author and illustrator have grouped them into "bees", "hopping insects", "pond creatures", "beetles" and so on. Scattered throughout are gentle reminders for readers about how they can help support, feed, and guard habitat so bugs will always be there. The book also includes a bit of info on other invertebrates (snails and slugs).
The collection details in the book emphasize catch and release and gentle observation. The author never mentions collecting for display, and there are no kill-jars or euthanasia details included.
For educators, the children in the book are ethnically diverse and main character Bella is a little girl with friends who are both male and female. It's refreshing to see a wide variety of representation. It's never emphasized in the text, but it is there.
Five stars. This would be a good choice for public or school library acquisition, classroom use, or the home library.
Disclosure: I received a pre-release recording at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
April 20, 2022
Fun fact, I have started a little personal children’s library of my own for someday down the road if I end up with future generations, and if not for any little visitors. I’ve so enjoyed collecting and choosing books so far and my family has even gifted me some. We are a big nature family so when I saw this on NetGalley I thought what a great way to see if this is one I would like to add to my collection or gift to someone.
‘Bella Loves Bugs’ is part of the Nature Heroes collection and is full of fun facts. Each book focuses on a different child and their passion for a different topic, such as birds or the planet even. We love to get sneaky learning in when we can right?! It is by author Jess French and Illustrator Duncan Beedie. Come be an entomologist!
Not only is the writing engaging the illustrations are perfect, down to a bug hair barrette for Bella. I loved that the beginning included safety tips for bug hunting, such as never touching their wings. Make sure to keep an eye out for Nancy the cute spider who tags along the whole way as the best little sidekick. It also had information on very basic equipment and where to best find certain bugs such as pond life and the ground, air, and flowers. It covers some basic metamorphosis and the different shapes and growth of bugs. We learn about what bugs build what, such as webs or other homes. We also find out what bugs come out at night and most importantly how you can do your part and protect both bugs and animals. I thought the page lengths were good and the illustrations and text would for sure hold both a child and adults attention. I think this would be a great gift, a great classroom book, or even perfect for after school or day care. I especially enjoyed and appreciated the emphasis on protecting Mother Nature.
Many thanks to Happy Yak an imprint of Quarto Group Publishing – Frances Lincoln Children's Books for providing me with an eGalley/PDF copy of the book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was published on April 19th, 2022. I know I will for sure be purchasing a copy for my collection. I can’t wait to read more books in this series.
‘Bella Loves Bugs’ is part of the Nature Heroes collection and is full of fun facts. Each book focuses on a different child and their passion for a different topic, such as birds or the planet even. We love to get sneaky learning in when we can right?! It is by author Jess French and Illustrator Duncan Beedie. Come be an entomologist!
Not only is the writing engaging the illustrations are perfect, down to a bug hair barrette for Bella. I loved that the beginning included safety tips for bug hunting, such as never touching their wings. Make sure to keep an eye out for Nancy the cute spider who tags along the whole way as the best little sidekick. It also had information on very basic equipment and where to best find certain bugs such as pond life and the ground, air, and flowers. It covers some basic metamorphosis and the different shapes and growth of bugs. We learn about what bugs build what, such as webs or other homes. We also find out what bugs come out at night and most importantly how you can do your part and protect both bugs and animals. I thought the page lengths were good and the illustrations and text would for sure hold both a child and adults attention. I think this would be a great gift, a great classroom book, or even perfect for after school or day care. I especially enjoyed and appreciated the emphasis on protecting Mother Nature.
Many thanks to Happy Yak an imprint of Quarto Group Publishing – Frances Lincoln Children's Books for providing me with an eGalley/PDF copy of the book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was published on April 19th, 2022. I know I will for sure be purchasing a copy for my collection. I can’t wait to read more books in this series.
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April 25, 2022I really want to love this but I am struggling a bit with it for a variety of reasons. The first is that the target age range of this book is 4-7 years old. This presumes an adult is reading this too that child but note that this is a LOT of text for this age group to take in. There are 48 pages to this book, each with a lot of text. While I appreciate that there is a through narrative pieced together with scientific facts, there isn't much by way or organization or chapter breaks where you could have a nice pause while reading this aloud.
On the very first page Bella is collecting garlic mustard for her caterpillars to eat. This is an invasive species and so a bit painful to see it mentioned in a modern nature-based book. Garlic mustard, originally from Europe and Asia, is an invasive plant across the Northeast, Midwest and Northwest of the United States.
It's also mentioned that a butterfly "makes" a chrysalis, but a chrysalis really is what's there after the last molt a caterpillar makes. It's not like the case of a cocoon which is in fact "made" by a moth.
While a range of bugs are discussed in this book -- butterflies, ants, bees, grasshoppers, beetles, dragonflies, centipedes, moths -- there is also a spider which follows Bella throughout the text. And, spiders are not bugs. Or insects. In fact, it's never really defined in this book what a bug is. What makes a bug a bug?
Note my favorite for this theme. The Big Book of Bugs is much better for this age range.
***Note: I was given a review copy of this book via Quarto Kids. Opinions are my own.
On the very first page Bella is collecting garlic mustard for her caterpillars to eat. This is an invasive species and so a bit painful to see it mentioned in a modern nature-based book. Garlic mustard, originally from Europe and Asia, is an invasive plant across the Northeast, Midwest and Northwest of the United States.
It's also mentioned that a butterfly "makes" a chrysalis, but a chrysalis really is what's there after the last molt a caterpillar makes. It's not like the case of a cocoon which is in fact "made" by a moth.
While a range of bugs are discussed in this book -- butterflies, ants, bees, grasshoppers, beetles, dragonflies, centipedes, moths -- there is also a spider which follows Bella throughout the text. And, spiders are not bugs. Or insects. In fact, it's never really defined in this book what a bug is. What makes a bug a bug?
Note my favorite for this theme. The Big Book of Bugs is much better for this age range.
***Note: I was given a review copy of this book via Quarto Kids. Opinions are my own.
May 4, 2022
Bella Loves Bugs is a fiction book that has lots of great non-fiction information within. The story is about a little girl who enjoys studying bugs and throughout the story there are many opportunities for readers to learn about certain species of insects as well as what tools might be necessary if you want to study bugs yourself. At the end of the story there is information about how to be a "bug hero" but being kind and protecting bugs and other wildlife. The story is also set in "Forest School" which normalizes the idea that children can learn in different contexts other than the typical classroom with four walls.
The pictures are colourful and detailed and the text is divided into small chunks which makes it seem less daunting to young readers. There are also onomatopoeias and other fun words that are written in larger, bolded fonts throughout the pages. This book contains non-fiction text features such as diagrams, drawings, labels, text boxes and bolded vocabulary words. The only thing that is missing, in my opinion is a glossary or index. As a grade 3 teacher I could definitely see my students reading and enjoying this book. I would recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in the 4-9 age range. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book!
The pictures are colourful and detailed and the text is divided into small chunks which makes it seem less daunting to young readers. There are also onomatopoeias and other fun words that are written in larger, bolded fonts throughout the pages. This book contains non-fiction text features such as diagrams, drawings, labels, text boxes and bolded vocabulary words. The only thing that is missing, in my opinion is a glossary or index. As a grade 3 teacher I could definitely see my students reading and enjoying this book. I would recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in the 4-9 age range. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book!
April 20, 2022
Bella Loves Bugs is jam-packed with information, but it's given in small doses and sidebars so young readers can pick and choose what to focus on. It's the type of book that youngsters will look at many times and use as a reference book. I learned several unknown facts, including that when slugs are scared, they can blow bubbles in their slime.
It encourages experiments and children will want to try many of the activities such as dipping a white tray into a pond or hanging a sheet and adding a light to see moths.
I appreciated how author Jess French included even "yucky" bugs such as woodlice and maggots, since they have important roles. I also appreciated the author pointing out that creatures shouldn't be caged for long, but released after they've been studied.
Illustrator Duncan Beedie chose pleasant colors, and I enjoyed the many details and the kid-friendly style.
It encourages experiments and children will want to try many of the activities such as dipping a white tray into a pond or hanging a sheet and adding a light to see moths.
I appreciated how author Jess French included even "yucky" bugs such as woodlice and maggots, since they have important roles. I also appreciated the author pointing out that creatures shouldn't be caged for long, but released after they've been studied.
Illustrator Duncan Beedie chose pleasant colors, and I enjoyed the many details and the kid-friendly style.
February 23, 2022
From the characters we meet here I guess there will be four books in this series, with this one – as you can tell – giving us a day in the life of a bug fan. Bella is a wannabe entomologist so knows how to fish bugs from pond water safely, how to lay traps to examine captured critters before letting them free, and how to have some caterpillars in her house. Oh, and spiders get mentioned too, even if of course they're nothing like insects. Visually it's very cartoonish and flat-seeming, but the book has more in it that may at first be evident – multiple font sizes means different levels of captioning can be given to all the close-up illustrations, and there are relevant box-outs and galleries to be had too. Ultimately, being like Bella looks a cool thing to be.
April 27, 2022
A fun informative read about bugs. We follow Bella along for the day we’re she discovers many different insects.
We learn about each of the ones we encounter something. There are even some tips and tricks, to help you if you want to trap and study the bugs yourself. There is also a spider that is coming along with us and she has always something to say.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
We learn about each of the ones we encounter something. There are even some tips and tricks, to help you if you want to trap and study the bugs yourself. There is also a spider that is coming along with us and she has always something to say.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
June 2, 2022
🌟🌟🌟🌟
Amazing illustrations with excellent descriptions.
I wish I had this when I was back in school doing my science club card as it would have been so helpful.
Now, I could never have been as fascinated with bugs like Bella but I sure would have feared them less.
Educational and fascinating all at once.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Amazing illustrations with excellent descriptions.
I wish I had this when I was back in school doing my science club card as it would have been so helpful.
Now, I could never have been as fascinated with bugs like Bella but I sure would have feared them less.
Educational and fascinating all at once.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
April 21, 2022
Do you have a child who loves bugs? This is the book for them. Learn all about the different kinds of bugs that Bella comes across as she explores. Learn what you need to pack in order to explore bugs and what safety precautions you need to take, in a child friendly way. The illustrations are bright and colorful, while accurate to the insects included.
May 10, 2022
Thanks to Netgalley and Happy Yak for a free digital copy.
As someone who is not a fan of bugs, this book maybe made me appreciate them a bit more. And it's super informative while being fun for kids to learn about all types of bugs and safe ways to interact with them. I definitely recommend this book for any tiny budding scientist.
As someone who is not a fan of bugs, this book maybe made me appreciate them a bit more. And it's super informative while being fun for kids to learn about all types of bugs and safe ways to interact with them. I definitely recommend this book for any tiny budding scientist.
August 16, 2022
This is a book for curious kids, who loves exploring outdoor and learning. Here, in the form of a story of a girl named Bella who loves bugs, we learn about many bugs, where to find them, their cycle of life, and so many more practical things kids can do. It's interesting though, to know how the nature works, and for kids who questions about so many things, this is the book.
April 23, 2022
If you are looking for a colorful, engaging, and instructive children's book about various types of insects, this book is for you. The colorful illustrations make clear similarities and differences in common and uncommon insects. Any young bug explorer will love this book.
October 1, 2022
An elementary and up picture book about a young girl who wants to be an entomologist spending the day in different parts of nature and her home looking and explaining bugs. very informative and cute pictures.
April 12, 2022
Lovely nature book aimed at KS1. Lots of information, appealing illustrations and activities, ideas, suggestions on how to help insects.
August 28, 2023
"My favorite page was about the bees."
August 7, 2024
Great bug facts and pictures.
December 22, 2024
Such an informative and well illustrated book! Both kids and adults learned a lot and had fun doing so
April 29, 2022
What a fun, fact-filled book this is. Bella is a little girl who is very interested in bugs, and we go on an adventure with her to find lots and lots of bugs. There is a lot of interesting information and knowledge in the book, and amazing graphics. My daughter and I learned a lot from this book, so I highly recommend it!
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews