Are you working on an insects and bugs unit in your classroom? Those creepy, crawly creatures are a great way to capture the interest and attention of your littles any time of year! If you’re looking for some great books to use in your teaching, you’re in the right place! Today I’m sharing all of my favorite picture books about insects and bugs!
Using Books to Teach About Insects and Bugs
Whether you’re teaching a unit on the life cycles of the butterfly, all about bees, or just bugs in general, great books are essential! One of my favorite things about starting a new theme in the classroom is getting to break out a fresh stack of books. I have no shortage of favorites for insects and bug themes, so let’s dive right in!
The Grouchy Ladybug By Eric Carle
This book is a classic with bright and beautiful illustrations that students will love! This story follows The Grouchy Ladybug on her journey as she meets many other creatures.
Along the way, students will focus on concepts like time, size, and shape, as well as the benefits of friendship and good manners. This book helps children understand that being a grouch maybe isn’t in their best interest! This book is great for any bugs and insects theme and pulls in the benefit of social growth as well.
Bugs by George McGavin
This book will wow your students with beautiful, full-color, pop-up pictures dedicated to insects and bugs! This book takes a deeper dive than most with flaps that detail bug insides, insects’ role in the world, and more useful information and trivia. This is a fun book to read a page or two of per day with your students!
Good Trick Walking Stick by Sheri Bestor
Have you ever seen a Walking Stick? These fascinating bugs are the topic of this story that’s great for read-aloud time in the classroom. This book details facts and information about these insects and their life cycle.
The Amazing Life Cycle of Butterflies by Kay Burnham
If you’re focusing specifically on butterflies, be sure to check out this book! This story follows a boy and girl as they learn all about the butterfly life cycle. Children will learn details about each stage in the insect life cycle. This is a wonderful book to use alongside a butterfly theme in your classroom in the springtime. If you’re looking for more butterfly books be sure to check out this post!
Bugs by Shira Evans
This National Geographic Reader is a great book to add to your insects and bugs collection!
This book features full-color pictures and vocabulary words to help your children learn all kinds of interesting facts. This is a great book to place in your classroom library after reading aloud to your students.
Heads and Tails: Insects by John Canty
This is a super fun book to include in your insects and bugs lesson planning! Because this book asks children to guess what insect is being described by offering clues on each page, it feels interactive. This is a fun way to learn new things about a variety of insects and their physical appearances.
Are You A Bee? by Judy Allen
Is your classroom focusing on bees? If so, this book is an absolute MUST for your collection! This book shows the busyness of a backyard from the perspective of a honeybee. Your students will love learning about the role of a young bee as they join the hive and contribute to the community. If you’re looking for even more books on bees, be sure to check out this list! And if you need activities to go along with it, I’ve gotcha covered!
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
This one is another classic by Eric Carle, but shouldn’t be missed! It tells the story of a spider on a farm and how busy she is building her web. All day long, the animals try to distract her. But, she keeps at her work until she has produced a beautiful and very useful web. Because of this, it’s a great way to open the discussion about spiders and what they use their webs for.
Going on a Bug Hunt by Sydney Kendall-Gardner
If you’ve got kiddos in your groups who are fearful of insects and bugs, this is a great story to use in your lessons! This book is based on the author’s son, who has sensory processing disorder and a fear of insects. Follow along on his adventure to overcome his fear and learn a lot about bugs along the way!
Even More Books About Insects and Bugs
Hopefully, these books gave you a good start on titles to look for at the library or on Amazon. But if you’re like me, you just can’t get enough books in your life! If that’s the case, I have a whole list of books dedicated to insects as well as one for bees, and spiders too! Be sure to check them out if you need more inspiration!
Save These Insects and Bugs Picture Books
Don’t forget to save this post to your favorite picture book or read aloud Pinterest board to keep all of these fun books about creepy, crawly insects and bugs handy!
