CM Magazine: Butterflies and Moths

________________ CM . . . . Volume I Number 15 . . . . September 22, 1995

Butterflies and Moths
Bobbie Kalman and Tammy Everts.
Toronto: Crabtree Publishing Company, 1994. 32pp, paper, $7.95 / library bound, $20.95.
ISBN 0-86505-614-5 (library bound).
ISBN 0-86505-714-1 (paper).
CIP

Subject Headings:
Butterflies-Juvenile literature.
Moths-Juvenile literature.

Kindergarten - grade 6 / Ages 5 - 11.
Review by Brenda Partridge

Bobbie Kalman and Tammy Everts have combined their skills to create a book that is excellent for insect research or appreciation. The table of contents and index make it simple to locate data on the metamorphosis, senses, coloration, and behaviour of the insects. All information is presented in easy-to-understand, yet very clear vocabulary. The glossary explains thirteen of the highlighted words from the text -- for example: osmeterium -- a caterpillar's horns; prolegs -- the leg-like stumps that help a caterpillar cling to leaves and twigs.

Each page has at least one vividly coloured photograph. The close-up techniques used allow life-like presentation. Great attention is given to detail and to the way colour is used. Photographs have coloured frames, page numbers are encased in moth shapes, charts have shaded backgrounds, and headlines change colour. Illustrations add more to the rainbow effect and balance each page. Non-readers would receive much enjoyment from the visual presentation.

Each topic is handled on a two-page spread -- from metamorphosis to food; from protective coloration to hibernation and migration. The final page in the book gives an explanation of the importance of each insect photograph. This gives students an opportunity to use another tool to search for information. It also prevents the pages from becoming unbalanced or cluttered with print.

Bobbie Kalman's non-fiction books are always a welcome addition to our Information Centres at the elementary level. Another book in her Crabapple series that follows an identical format, Wings, Wheels and Sails, is also reviewed in this issue of CM.

Highly recommended.

Brenda Partridge is a Library-Resource teacher at Percy Centennial Public School in Warkworth, Ontario.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - September 22, 1995.