DK Readers: Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! (Level 2: Beginning to Read Alone)

Rating:
Summary: Just Plain Buggy!
Review: My sons enjoyed this book tremendously. I heard the word "cool" come out of thier mouths more than once. The pictures were very detailed. It was easy for my first grader to read.

Rating:
Summary: Violent bugs! Discordant Text.
Review: Predator insects star in the Eyewitness Reader Book, Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Jennifer Dussling. Following in the style of other Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness books, Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! overflows with clear, eye-catching, color photographs. The cover photograph may attract reluctant readers with its graphic photograph detailing a preying mantis chomping its teeth into a captured fly. Readers enter a world of extremely magnified, floating insect photographs on white backgrounds. The images depict insects attacking each other or standing alone.
Accompanying text discusses the insect pictured in the stilted, easy language of a level two reader. Plainly labeled as a level two book, Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! fits into the popular genre of Reading Level Books. Although the author has extensive writing experience with leveled readers, the subject of the text jumps from page to page without good transitions and creates a hard-to-follow jumble of words-which potentially creates a difficult reading environment for the intended reading audience of children just beginning to read alone. Informational boxes scattered throughout the pages add additional tidbits on insect behavior-also adding additional confusion. Due to the discordant text, the book would be better used as a picture book where children read a caption here and there.
As a leveled reader, the book includes a note for parents which explains the leveled reader system and recommends the book for children just beginning to read (between ages 3-8). As an eyewitness reader, Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! follows the leveled reader guidelines for level two: approximately 700 words; 70% pictures and 30% text. Sure to be popular due to the graphic cover and leveled reader status, the book would be a satisfactory addition to larger collections but should be skipped for smaller collections since better leveled readers already exist.

Rating:
Summary: Violent bugs! Discordant Text.
Review: Predator insects star in the Eyewitness Reader Book, Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Jennifer Dussling. Following in the style of other Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness books, Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! overflows with clear, eye-catching, color photographs. The cover photograph may attract reluctant readers with its graphic photograph detailing a preying mantis chomping its teeth into a captured fly. Readers enter a world of extremely magnified, floating insect photographs on white backgrounds. The images depict insects attacking each other or standing alone.
Accompanying text discusses the insect pictured in the stilted, easy language of a level two reader. Plainly labeled as a level two book, Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! fits into the popular genre of Reading Level Books. Although the author has extensive writing experience with leveled readers, the subject of the text jumps from page to page without good transitions and creates a hard-to-follow jumble of words-which potentially creates a difficult reading environment for the intended reading audience of children just beginning to read alone. Informational boxes scattered throughout the pages add additional tidbits on insect behavior-also adding additional confusion. Due to the discordant text, the book would be better used as a picture book where children read a caption here and there.
As a leveled reader, the book includes a note for parents which explains the leveled reader system and recommends the book for children just beginning to read (between ages 3-8). As an eyewitness reader, Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! follows the leveled reader guidelines for level two: approximately 700 words; 70% pictures and 30% text. Sure to be popular due to the graphic cover and leveled reader status, the book would be a satisfactory addition to larger collections but should be skipped for smaller collections since better leveled readers already exist.