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Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Poetry Friday - A Review of Bustle in the Bushes

I know a lot of adults who don't like insects of any kind. Or spiders. Or snails and slugs. However, most children are fascinated by these little creatures. They keep beetles and snails as pets, and spend hours looking for insects and their relatives in yards and gardens.

In today's poetry title we are going to visit a garden to see what kinds of little critters we can find. Does anyone have a jar and a butterfly net handy?

Bustle in the Bushes
Bustle in the BushesGiles Andreae
Illustrated by David Wojtowycz
Poetry Picture Book
For ages 4 to 7
Tiger Tales, 2012, 978-1-58925-109-0
   If you visit your backyard and if you are very quiet, you might hear rustling in the bushes and a buzzing in the flowers. Get down closer to the ground, and you might see a ladybug marching across a leaf, a bee hovering over a blossom, or a dragonfly zipping to and fro in front of your nose. Let’s take a journey into a bookish backyard on a “lovely summer’s day” to find “minibeasts” who “want to come and play.”
   The first creature we find is a snail who slowly slides across the ground. The snail accounts for its slowness by explaining that we too would be slow if we “had to carry / Your house on your back.” Not far off are four slugs who, unlike their relative the snail, do not carry their houses around with them, which is why they hide under flowerpots and stones.
   Later on we meet an earwig who is standing on a twig. The creature tells us that it likes to eat plants and rotten trees. This may seem like strange to you, but what is stranger still is that the earwig has “pinchers on my bottom!”
   Then there are some grasshoppers whose long legs make them excellent jumpers. The amazing thing is grasshoppers can also make music with their legs by rubbing them together.
   Many children love looking for and learning about insects and other small creatures that are commonly found in gardens and yards. In this delightful book, we get to meet and find out about a wide variety of “minibeasts” who live in several different kinds of micro environments. With rhyming bouncy poems and bright illustrations, now children can experience the “Bustle in the Bushes” wherever they are.

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