Kids Books About Bugs
Young children often have a natural interest in bugs and there is so much to know about the creepy crawlies of the world! The children’s books about bugs on this book list are engaging and fun to read, and full of great information to help children learn about the wonderful world of bugs. My kids and I read every one of these bug books, and they are all kid approved! I hope you and your children enjoy these bug books as much as we did!
Bug Books for Toddlers
These bug books are on the toddler portion of this book list for their length and the simplicity of their content. Though they appeal to toddlers, many preschoolers will enjoy these bug books as well!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
This classic picture book is a delight to share with young children. Although it is not a non-fiction book it is a good way to introduce the concept of metamorphosis. We see the egg, the caterpillar, the cocoon, and the butterfly in this fun story about a little caterpillar that eats too much of the wrong things. Check out my fun craft that goes with this book so you and your child can make hungry caterpillars of your own! This is my top pick for bug books for toddlers.
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
This is a fun story about a grouchy ladybug who tries to pick a fight with all kinds of bugs and other animals. It introduces toddlers to many different kinds of bugs, like a mantis, stag beetle, and yellow jacket. Although it isn’t an informational book, it is a fun bug-themed book to share with your toddler or preschooler. This story also incorporates themes of size and time, so it’s a great story for introducing those topics as well.
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
The very busy spider spends all day spinning her spider web and refuses to stop and do anything that any of the other animals invite her to do. When she’s all done, she’s all tired out and ready to go to sleep! This is a story book, not meant to be informational, but it does introduce little ones to the idea of spiders spinning webs.
The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle
This picture book introduces young children to many types of bugs as the Quiet Cricket meets a locust, a praying mantis, a worm, a spittlebug, a cicada, a dragonfly, and more. The very quiet cricket finally finds his song when he meets a lady cricket!
The Very Clumsy Click Beetle by Eric Carle
This is a cute little story about a young click beetle who is learning to click and flip. Your little one is going to want to go on a click beetle hunt after learning about this bug!
The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle
The very lonely firefly looks and looks for some firefly friends but finds all different kinds of lights instead. He finds headlights, a candle, and fireworks and in the end he finally finds a group of fireflies. Now the firefly isn’t lonely anymore!
Hustle Bustle Bugs by Catherine Bailey
This is a good brief introduction to lots of different kinds of bugs and what they do. It’s short with a simple rhyming text, so it’s great for the attention spans of toddlers and preschoolers. There’s enough information here to whet a young child’s curiosity and inspire further exploration.
Beetle Bop by Denise Fleming
This is a cute little story that introduces young children to beetles. The text is rhythmic and energetic, which makes it a perfect picture book about bugs for toddlers and preschoolers. Lots of different kinds of beetles are mentioned, but the book does not provide further information about them. This is a good book for introducing beetles, stoking curiousity, and inspiring exploration.
Bug Books for Preschoolers
These kids books about bugs should be about right for the preschool level of attention span and comprehension. Older kids will enjoy some of these bug books as well!
Bugs from Head to Tail by Stacey Roderick
This book introduces children to many different kinds of bugs, some of which are lesser-known, such as the rhinoceros beetle and luna moth. Something fun about this picture book is that it shows a part of a bug and asks the reader to guess what it is as part of the introduction to each of the bugs in the book. There are lots of fun bug facts in this book that kids will love.
From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman
This is a simple introduction to the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly. It describes all the stages of metamorphosis clearly with text and illustrations. The information is incorporated into a story, which makes it easy to absorb and engaging. This is the perfect book to go along with a unit study on caterpillars and butterflies for preschool and kindergarten aged children! You can’t go wrong with the Let’s Read and Find Out series.
Bugs are Insects by Anne Rockwell
This is an excellent introduction to insects for young children. It does a great job of explaining what makes an insect an insect in a simple, interesting, and concise way. It explains what an exoskeleton is, and tells about the different body parts of an insect. There are great suggestions in the back for doing nature study on bugs and learning more. A great bug book for kids from Let’s Read and Find Out!
A Ladybug’s Life by John Himmelman
This is a super simple story that follows a ladybug as she transforms from egg, to larva, to pupa, to beetle, and as she eats, flies, avoids getting eaten, and lays her own eggs, then sleeps for the winter. This is an excellent ladybug book for preschool and kindergarten!
Fireflies in the Night by Judy Hawes
This book had me wanting to go out and catch some fireflies! It’s a story about a young girl who makes firefly lanterns while visiting her grandparents. It gives us a good basic overview of fireflies – their anatomy, how they make light, their mating behavior, and more. This is an excellent bug book for preschool and early elementary!
Manuelo the Playing Mantis by Don Freeman
This is a cute little story about a praying mantis who really really want to be able to make music. He tries all kinds of ways to make music, and finally succeeds, with the help of a spider, in making a cello. This book about bugs is completely fictional, but a fun story about bugs nonetheless!
Butterflies in the Garden by Carol Lerner
This book introduces the reader to many different kinds of butterflies and the flowers that they need for nectar and laying eggs. It gives instructions for feeding butterflies and planting a butterfly garden. This book is informative in a gentle and simple way that makes it great for all ages. I really enjoyed this one!
Ant Cities by Arthur Dorros
This book takes us into an ant hill to watch ants at work. We find out how harvester ants collect and store seeds, how ants care for their young, how ants develop from egg, to larvae, to pupae, to adult, how ants “talk” to each other, how different types of ants live (like janitor ants, carpenter ants, formica ants, and others) and so much more! This is a fantastic book for learning about ants! Great bug book for late preschool and beyond.
You Are a Honey Bee by Laurie Ann Thompson
This is a cute little story about the work and life of a honey bee. It incorporates lots of interesting facts and fun motions to keep little ones engaged. The simple text and fun illustrations makes this a perfect book for the younger crowd to learn about bees! This is one of my very favorite bug books for preschoolers. Many toddlers will enjoy this book as well.
Wonderful Worms by Linda Glaser
The text of this book is super simple, with lots of good basic information, which makes it great for young kids. The back of the book has more in-depth information for the kids who want to know more or are ready for a deeper dive!
I’m a Pill Bug by Yukihisa Tokuda
This story is simple, with lots of interesting information about pill bugs (also known as roly-poly bugs), woven in. Easy and enjoyable to read and easy to understand.
Bug Books for School Aged Children
These bug books are just a little bit longer than the titles above and require a bit more of an attention span. Many younger children will enjoy them, but in general they are well suited for elementary aged comprehension and attention.
How to Build an Insect by Roberta Gibson
This is probably my favorite book about bugs for kids! It covers the anatomy of an insect in such a fun an interesting way that it really makes the subject come alive. This is such a fun children’s book for helping little learners absorb a science lesson on insects without even trying. In this fact-filled book they will learn about the number of legs of an insect, about the three segments of the body, about insect wings, and lots more! It’s a perfect way to start off a fun hands-on activity about insect anatomy too. I highly recommend this bug book!
The Mystery of the Monarchs: How Kids, Teachers, and Butterfly Fans Helped Fred and Norah Urquhart Track the Great Monarch Migration by Barb Rosenstock
This is one of my favorite books on bugs for kids! It tells the story of how Fred Urquhart was curious about monarch butterflies as a child and wondered where they went when they disappeared in the fall. He spent his whole life trying to answer this question, and with the help of many people (including many children and teachers!) he finally did! It’s such a cool true story told in a very child-friendly way. There is a lot of great information here, and important themes of curiosity, persistence, and cooperation. Children participated in the uncovering of the mystery of the monarch migration, so this is also a great book for inspiring your little scientist!
Flight of the Honey Bee by Raymond Huber
Tells the story of Scout, a honey bee scout, and the obstacles she encounters on her search for pollen. We learned so many fascinating things from this book! Even my older kids, who are a preteen and teen, learned things about honey bees that they didn’t know before! I highly recommend this bug book!
Not a Bean by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez
This is a story that introduces the reader to jumping beans, which are actually tiny nurseries for developing jumping bean moths! This is a fun book for learning about a lesser known bug.
Mr. McGinty’s Monarchs by Linda Vander Heyden
The author of this story tells you all about monarch caterpillars and butterflies almost without you even realizing it, because she weaves the facts into the story so seamlessly. The story is lovely and engaging. An all around great book for learning about monarch butterflies!
The Bumblebee Queen by April Pulley Sayre
I learned so much about bumblebees from this book! The book is packed with interesting information about bumblebees, told in a concise and pleasing way, with side notes to add extra detail.
Are You an Ant? by Judy Allen
Lots of great info about ants told in an easy to absorb story form.
How to Survive as a Firefly by Kristen Foote
Tons of interesting information told in an entertaining way (through a firefly drill sergeant). There were a lot of fun facts about fireflies in this book that were new to me!
Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle
This is a really cool true story about a little girl in the middle ages who learned about butterflies and other animals through careful observation, and proved that the popular thinking of the time (that insects were born from mud and were evil) was incorrect. Told from an imaginary Maria’s point of view, this story not only tells about how Maria observed and learned, but it also incorporates a lot of interesting information about the life cycle of butterflies. I highly recommend this one!
Are You a Dragonfly? by Judy Allen
There is so much great information about dragonflies in this book, told in a story form that is easy for kids to enjoy and absorb.
Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons
Tons of great information here, told in a simple and accessible story form.
Are You a Grasshopper? by Judy Allen
A simple and informative story that is enjoyable and interesting to read. There is a lot you can learn about grasshoppers from this book!
Honey in a Hive by Anne Rockwell
So much great information about bees in this book! It is interesting, easy to understand, and I learned a ton! Note: There is quite a bit of information about the mating behavior of bees in this book, so you might want to be prepared to answer questions if they come up!
Chirping Crickets by Melvin Berger
We really enjoyed learning all about crickets through this book! Lots of great information and some activity suggestions at the end.
Glasswings: A Butterfly’s Story by Elisa Kleven
This is a fictional story about a glassing butterfly. I can’t say that I love the story itself, but I do think the book is worthwhile because it introduces a lesser known butterfly and gives a lot of factual information about it.
The Secret Life of the Wooly Bear Caterpillar by Laurence Pringle
This story is about Bella, a wooly bear caterpillar, and the details of her life, including eating, sleeping, hibernation and metamorphosis. Very interesting and easy to understand!
Magnificent Monarchs by Linda Glaser
Narrated story of the life of a monarch including metamorphosis, migration, laying eggs. Lots of great facts in the back!
Monarch and Milkweed by Helen Frost
This is a lovely story told from the vantage point of Monarch as she searches for milkweed on which to lay her eggs, and then follows her child through hatching, growing, metamorphosis, and migration. The life cycle of milkweed is woven into this story. Very simple, easy to understand, and informative bug book.
A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston
This is a great book! It’s jam-packed with information, told in a way that is enjoyable and easy to understand. It also introduces many different kinds of butterflies with lovely illustrations. Excellent book about bugs for kids!
I, Fly: The Buzz About Flies and How Awesome They Are by Bridget Heos
This book is a really fun way for young readers to learn about flies! It’s a funny and entertaining picture book from the point of view of a fly telling a classroom full of children about how awesome he is. This book is full of fun facts and interesting information about house flies. We really enjoyed this bug book!
Those Amazing Ants by Patricia Brennan Demuth
This is an excellent book about ants! There is so much to learn about these truly amazing bugs and this book does a great job of teaching all about ants in an engaging way. This is one of my top picks if you are wanting to learn about ants!
Spinning Spiders by Melvin Berger
This is a super interesting picture book about spiders! There is all kinds of information in the book about what spiders eat, about the different kinds of spider webs they make, about the parts of their bodies, and more! This is an engaging and informative book about bugs for kids, as you can expect from the Let’s Read and Find Out series.
Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer
This book about earthworms is full of interesting facts, great information, and helpful illustrations, all presented in a way that is easy for children to understand and absorb. In this book you’ll learn all about worm anatomy, how worms loosen and enrich the soil and help plants grow, and how worms reproduce. This book about bugs for kids is a great choice for kindergarten on up.
The Big Book of Bugs by Yuval Zommer
This picture book about bugs is worth checking out for the beautiful illustrations alone! The gorgeous illustrations are so much fun to look at and are packed with delightful surprises. The “can you find…?” questions make this a fun interactive book that sends young readers on a bug hunt. This bug book provides lots of interesting information on many different kinds of bugs from centipedes and stick bugs to bees and praying mantises, and topics such as the way bugs work and the ways bugs move. You’ll want to take it in small bites if you use it as a read-aloud because it is a bit lengthy, but young bug lovers will love exploring it independently. This is the perfect bug book for little entomologists! This is one of my top picks for books about bugs for kids.
Creepy, Crawly, Caterpillars by Margery Facklam
This book is not going to be for everyone because it is heavy on text, but I had to include it on this list because the caterpillars in the books are so interesting! Caterpillars that are carnivorous, spit acid, make sleeping bags, and more fascinating and unusual things. If your child is really interested in bugs and has a longer attention span, they will love this bug book!
The Diary of a Fly by Doreen Cronin
This bug book is full of interesting information about flies told in a silly story about a fly. Fly tells us all about her life and her family and friends and interjects facts about flies throughout. This is a very entertaining book that will have kids learning about flies on the sly!
I hope you enjoyed this list of bug books for kids! Thank you for visiting! Feel free to check out my other lists of children’s books for more great books for learning about science, history, and more!
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