School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-6As he did in Beast Feast (1994), On The Wing (1996), and In the Swim (1997, all Harcourt), Florian offers 21 short, inventive poems and paintings that create playful images of animals. Here, the subjects are arthropods such as the mayfly, praying mantis, hornet, black widow spider, and weevils. The verse form is as varied as the creatures presented. Shaped or pattern poems about the inchworm, whirligig beetles, and mound-building termites work particularly well. The words are arranged in pleasing patterns and the rhythms fit the characteristics of the subjects. The design adds to the overall appeal. Each selection is given its own page, allowing for the use of large type and plenty of glossy white space, and paired with a full-page watercolor with a neat border of white. These portraits build on the imaginatively integrated realistic and anthropomorphic images created in the text. There are other books of poetry about insects and lots of collections of humorous verses about animals but none match Insectlopedia.Carolyn Angus, The Claremont Graduate School, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
"The silly, imaginative verses about whirligig beetles and waterbugs (almost) match the exquisite pictures in playfulness and wit. The result is downright stunning," said PW. Ages 5-8. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
The creator of In the Swim (1997) joins Paul Fleischman (in Joyful Noise, 1987) in poetically praising insects. Read alone or read aloud, each of these ticklish tidbits features an individual member of the insect world, and focuses on attributes, foibles, and antics displayed in the eight-legged community. The daddy longlegs is accused of engaging in spiderobics, the walking stick performs a disappearing trick, and mosquitoes feast on the skin as ``take-out.'' Some of the entries rely on clever wordplay, while others are examples of concrete poetry; the text takes on the hump of the inchworm or the spiral movements of the whirligig beetle. The watercolor illustrations, abstract and stylized, achieve a comic effect by incorporating collage elements reminiscent of an entomolgist's field notes. (Picture book. 5-10)
Booklist Review
Gr. 3^-5. Florian, the author/illustrator of beast feast (1994) and on the wing (1996), now presents a witty collection of short poems about insects and spiders. The verse rhymes at the ends of lines, and often internally as well, as Florian plays with sound and meter, word and sense, and even the placement of words on the page to create poems that children will enjoy, such as "The io moth / Has mam-moth eyes / That are not real--/ They're a disguise / To ward off birds / And other creatures, / Like garter snakes / And science teachers." The illustration on the facing page shows that the "mam-moth eyes" are eyespots on the moth's wings. The book is handsomely designed, with each short poem appearing on a large white page across from a full-color illustration. The artwork consists of collages of drawn and painted images and printed letters on paper that is cut and juxtaposed for effect. The clever artwork, deftly constructed, and the entertaining collection of insect and arachnid verse it illustrates will delight readers. --Carolyn Phelan
