Bug Off! Creepy, Crawly Poems

The team behind A Mirror to Nature and Wild Wings offers another striking pairing of poems and photographs about the natural world, in this case the mysterious lives of insects. Each poem (and photograph) is a careful observation of its subject, whether a graceful butterfly (“A tutu-clad dancer,/ I move with lightness”) or a tick (“The tick is mostly mouth,/ and if he lands on you/ he’ll try to suck your blood,/ ’cause that’s what all ticks do”). Each spread also includes a short prose passage with additional information and observations. Regarding a swarm of insects, Yolen writes, “Jason and I don’t actually know which bugs are swarming or why.... Sometimes nature is like that.” Ages 5–up. Agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. (Apr.)