Beetle Mania

by Megan Litwin, Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn (Illustrator)

Meet Dirt and Bugsy – best buds who catch all kinds of bugs – in this fun early reader!

Dirt and Bugsy are neighbors, best friends, and bug catchers. Bugs that crawl. Bugs that fly. Bugs that slide. Bugs that hide. When they gather a bunch of beetles, the boys make a plan to sort them into categories. But how will they decide how to sort all those beetles?

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

Published June 27, 2023

Reviews

[Dianne White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beetles are fascinating! They come in all different colors, sizes, and shapes. What's not to love? Right up there with real live beetles are books about beetles. Megan Litwin hits all the right notes in this follow-up to the first book, Bug Catcher, in her DIRT and BUGSY series. As a long-time, primary-grades teacher, I know the importance of "just right" books for emerging and progressing readers: an engaging plot, eye-catching pictures that support the text (expertly illustrated by Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn) along with repetition, decodable words, and familiar sight words. Add in a bit of "beetle math" - sorting bugs into child-friendly categories - and you know you've struck early reader gold!

[Kelly Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

If an ant on the sidewalk or a cricket on a leaf makes your young reader stop and scootch in for a closer look, then Dirt & Bugsy are just the reading buddies they need. Dirt & Bugsy love all things bugs and in BEETLE MANIA – the second book in the Dirt & Bugsy early reader series – they focus their bug catching skills on beetles. They catch so many different types of beetles it makes their “brains buzz” and little readers will be buzzing to copy Dirt & Bugsy’s example and go on their own bug hunting adventure.

The perfect early reader to kick off summer and inspire junior entomologists. This is a series that belongs on bedroom bookshelves, in library catalogs, and on teacher wish lists!

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect early reader book filled with bug adventures, imagination, and heart!

Dirt and Bugsy are best friends who love everything about bugs. In this second book in the series, Dirt and Bugsy are back catching more bugs—this time BEETLES! But when the two friends discover that sorting the beetles proves harder than catching them, they must find a way to agree before their chances all crawl away.

Everything about this book is delightful. From the easily decodable words, to the lovable characters and vibrant illustrations, to the bonus backmatter. This series is sure to capture the hearts of young readers, parents, educators, and even perhaps, the most reluctant bug lover!

[Jyoti Gopal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dirt & Bugsy love all things bugs, and in Megan Litwin’s second book in the Dirt & Bugsy early reader series – they share their love of beetles. With simple, engaging text and captivating illustrations, not to mention some lovely math thrown in as the boys try to figure how to sort the beetles they are studying, Litwin has penned another winner. This is sure to be a hit all around. Can’t wait to read what these intrepid entomologists explore next! A lovely addition to any library - home or school!

[Eija · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beetles are some of my favorite bugs because there are so many beautiful varieties!

I like how this early reader follows the boys as they work through some basic conflict when it comes to sorting their beetles.

Also I learned that ladybugs fit into the beetle family, which is new information for me! Appreciate the inclusion of a page for who the boys document and identify their bugs so kids at home can join in too.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bugs are a passionate topic for those cute kids, Dirt and Bugsy. Sorting out all those little creatures makes for a fine topic. Clearly these boys are budding scientists.

Together they catch all kinds of insects, including:

* Bugs that crawl.
* Bugs that fly.
* Bugs that side.
* Bugs that hide.

Rhymes add to the fun, and so do all those squirmy bugs!

May this FIVE STAR book inspire many a STEM professional!

[Amanda Smith]

DIRT AND BUGSY: BEETLE MANIA is the adorable second book in the DIRT AND BUGSY early reader series by Megan Litwin. With colorful illustrations by Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn and clever rhyme and repetition, Beetle Mania engages hatching readers. It also encourages early mathematicians and scientists to experiment in fun ways. These books are perfect summer reads that will lead to outside play!

[Ellie Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging book for young readers, especially the bug loving type! This is also a great introduction to classifying organisms (take it from this former science teacher) and would be a fun way to start a unit in an elementary classroom. Bright and bold illustrations of beetles makes this book very appealing!

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun series for every bug loving kiddo and those that aren't but will appreciate them too after reading these books. Beetle Mania is an adorable addition, the wordplay, friendship, STEM and respect for nature themes are so subtle, fun and overall fantastic!

[Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the idea and the beetles. Unfortunately there is a shield bug (hemipteran) on one of the pages, masquerading as a beetle! I know most kids won't care but as a bug-loving taxonomy-aware adult reader it made me pause.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

two boys love to catch bugs. But when they start to sort them they both have their own ideas of how they would like to sort the bugs. They learn to work together. A great book for first to second grade children who like bugs.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two kids who like bugs disagree on the best way to organize them. Works as an early reader. The bugs are drawn realistically. I would have liked them named.

[Lisa Tolin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beetles are beautiful! This will be fun for early readers to decode and learn about all kinds of beetles.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun early reader about bug-catching boys, who want to try and group the beetles they find. But this isn't so easy. Should bugs be sorted by size or by color or by something else?

[Laura Gehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read this book (and the also-excellent earlier book in the series), it was immediately obvious that the text had been written by a teacher. Not only is the book written in a way that supports kids who are just beginning to read longer chunks of text independently, but it has an engaging plot, and kids will learn about sorting in addition to strengthening their reading skills. The illustrations are also very cute, complementing the text and helping a new reader understand the text. I already recommended this book to a friend whose son is learning to read, and I will highly recommend it to anyone else I know or encounter who has an emerging reader in their life. So well done!