See? Rabbit hole. While activists have been trying to stop the demolition for months, one of their best chances for staying the demolition came in the form of a tiny bumblebee: the rusty patched bumblebee, to be exact. The rusty patched bumblebee was the first bee to be added to the endangered species list in the U.S., and since the queens overwinter in underground burrows, the demolition was delayed to give the bees a chance to wake up and find other places to nest. (How the construction crews and local government plan to let the rusty patched bumblebees know that they shouldn’t lay eggs in the Bell Bowl Prairie this year is as much a mystery to me as it is to you.) I do think that now would be a good moment to say that I work in children’s books, and I don’t typically run to picture books as the best source of information, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be a resource. And, of course, if you do happen to have picture book readers in your household, picture books are a great way to teach basics. Who knows, maybe you’re raising a future prairie-fate decision-maker, and a well-timed picture book about a bumblebee might make all the difference. Besides, you never know what picture book might send you down your next rabbit hole. Below, I’ve listed some of my favorite picture books about creepy crawlies. They’re not all strictly educational, but they’re all excellent. I hope you’ve been inspired to learn a little more about the world around you through these picture books about bugs. Want to read more nature picture books? Check out these lists! Want to encourage the budding environmentalists in your life? Here are some perfect books for you.
