Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!

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Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA -- School Library Journal, 9/18/2008

Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! DVD. 8 min. with tchr’s. guide. Weston Woods (scholastic.com/westonwoods). 2008. ISBN 0-545-09211-1. $59.95; CD, ISBN 978-0-545-09445-0, $12.95; CD with hardcover book. ISBN 978-0-545-09453-5: $29.95.

PreS-Gr 2–Bob Barner’s simple nonfiction book (Chronicle, 1999) is happily animated, set to music, and performed in a rap style for this fun production. The bouncy, rhyming text is delightfully suited to this format, and the vivid illustrations have been computer animated, while retaining their collage style. The infectious music is enough to recommend the program, but the DVD also extends the book, adding a “Meet the Bugs” section that provides additional interesting facts about the featured creatures, and using the bug graph at the back of the book as the basis for a “Bug-o-meter” game that would be fun to play as a class. There is also an author interview, where children can find out the background behind some of Barner’s books, and how he creates his illustrations. The same audio portion, without the game and interview, is available on CD for an enjoyable listening center opportunity. A terrific extension for primary teachers doing bug units.