Jack's Insects (Yesterday's Classics)

When Jack receives a book on insects for his birthday, Maggie wishes one could get "into" a book. And so they do, experiencing adventures with insects of all sorts as they "travel" through the book. Along the way they encounter a butterfly with a grievance, extraordinary caterpillars, a hungry spider, a distinguished musician (a katydid), as well as fireflies, locusts, grasshoppers, wasps, bees, and more. The author, Edmund Selous, a lifelong observer of wildlife, produced books about animals for both children and adults. In his books for children, Selous conveys an amazing amount of information about animals through the conversations his youthful protagonists have with the animals they encounter. Each animal is brought to life so vividly through the story that the reader unconsciously absorbs the details of its existence: its physical characteristics, its habits and preferences, and its interactions with other animals.