Built Like a Bug: How Insects Inspire Everyday Inventions

Written by Anjali Joshi

Illustrated by Kathleen Ng

Annick Press

978-1-834020310

128 pp.

Ages 8–12

March 2026 

 

The natural world has always astounded. From within its plant and animal species, its landforms, its waters, and environmental factors like weather come examples for processes that work for adaptation, communication, farming, and more. In Built Like a Bug, Anjali Joshi, a science educator, focuses on insects and reveals all the ways they inspire important inventions and developments.

From Built Like a Bug: How Insects Inspire Everyday Inventions, written by Anjali Joshi, illustrated by Kathleen Ng

The table of contents to Built Like a Bug demonstrates the complexity of the book's content. It looks at mosquitoes and cockroaches, spiders and leafhoppers, termites and fireflies, ants, hawk moths, dung beetles, and bees and dragonflies. The assortment of insects is only matched by the contributions they have made to innovative research and development.

From Built Like a Bug: How Insects Inspire Everyday Inventions, written by Anjali Joshi, illustrated by Kathleen Ng

In addition to providing basic scientific information like common and scientific names, life and size, Anjali Joshi highlights key features of their behaviour that should be noted. For example, information on how the mosquito effectively jabs an animal and prevents clotting is being used by researchers to reduce pain from needles and to develop synthetic anti-coagulants.

From Built Like a Bug: How Insects Inspire Everyday Inventions, written by Anjali Joshi, illustrated by Kathleen Ng

Silk from spiders is inspiring researchers to develop sutures for stitches, to deliver medicines, to create bullet-proof materials, and to investigate it as a building material.

From Built Like a Bug: How Insects Inspire Everyday Inventions, written by Anjali Joshi, illustrated by Kathleen Ng

Insects are models for farming, for electricity, for flight, for navigation, for medicine, and so much more. They can inform us about engineering and building robots, as well as about energy efficiency and dealing with trash. There is so much information in Built Like a Bug that any reader—or teacher—will be able to get both a broad overview of how insects inspire innovation and the finer points about insects themselves and the research and development they generate. Regardless of the complexity of information, Built Like a Bug is organized so well that it is a pleasure to delve into the material. Tidbits of interesting facts are posted in info boxes called "Bug Bites" and the illustrations by Toronto-based artist Kathleen Ng give colour and details to strengthen the information and to keep the text from becoming overwhelming. Her digital art is specific enough to help convey key information, but it is not so detailed that a middle grade reader would get bored.

From Built Like a Bug: How Insects Inspire Everyday Inventions, written by Anjali Joshi, illustrated by Kathleen Ng

I know kids will enjoy this book, especially those interested in STEM activities, but teachers will adore it. Not only is it a prime example of a non-fiction book for middle-grade readers, offering opportunities for learning and creativity, teachers will appreciate the variety of features, from the glossary, full index, and references to the numerous experiments and activities. Built Like a Bug will give young readers lots to think about and to do, perhaps inspire them to see more within the natural world.

 

It Snowed

Written and illustrated by Meaghan Smith

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77471-413-3

32 pp.

Ages 3–7

November 2025 

 

In my part of the country, many children (and adults) woke up today to a winter wonderland. And that wonder is captured in the text and art of Meaghan Smith in It Snowed.

 

From It Snowed, written and illustrated by Meaghan Smith

Two young children wake up to find that it snowed in the night. They are delighted, along with their dog and maybe their cat, to see deep drifts of snow have coated the yard and the road. When their parents suggest a day to play hooky, they bundle up and go sledding. 

How merry

    How bright

A snowfall turns the 

     world into a lovely sight (pp. 20–21) 

When the day ends, and after an evening by the fireside, the children head to bed after wishing on a star for, you guessed it, another snow day.

From It Snowed, written and illustrated by Meaghan Smith

Meaghan Smith may be the author-illustrator of It Snowed but she's also the award-winning singer-songwriter who wrote the song titled "It Snowed." (You can listen to different versions of her song on her YouTube channel.) That song, and now this picture book, capture children's joy of a snow day when it's all about the promise of play in the snow. It's about being outside the whole day, overlooking the cold, and only coming inside to warm up, eat, and then get ready for bed. It's a special time and the stuff of memories.

 

The rhyming text points to its derivation from a song, but Meaghan Smith's illustrations give it a new dimension, one of softness and of sensation. Those children, and even their pets and wildlife, remind us that snow gives us a different world. It can be one of ordinary play, but it can also be one of magic. And Meaghan Smith's art sparkles just as snow does.

From It Snowed, written and illustrated by Meaghan Smith

We'll have many more days of snow ahead—apparently we're in for more cold and snow this winter—so it'll be a perfect opportunity to bring out It Snowed to read and to sing after a day of play and perhaps after enjoying a hot chocolate and a fire. It'll be a treat for bedtime and to spark some delightful dreams about yet another snow day.

Love is for Roaring

Written by Mike Kerr

Illustrated by Renata Liwska

Bloomsbury

978-1-68119-124-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

January 2022

While I probably should have reviewed this lovely picture book in January when it came out so that it would be ready for Valentine's Day, I think that books about love in all its forms are important all year round, don't you think?

From Love is for Roaring by Mike Kerr, illus. by Renata Liwska

At school, the animals are given the assignment of showing their love as a crafty card. But this work distresses Lion who is perplexed by what is required.  Mouse can see the stress this causes Lion and tries to draw out of Lion what he understands love to be and what he might love. But that doesn't go well. Everything Mouse suggests, from hugs and kisses and sweet treats, are negated by Lion whose experiences with or perceptions of those are aggravating.

From Love is for Roaring by Mike Kerr, illus. by Renata Liwska

Finally when Mouse suggests activities like running and playing, roaring and chasing, Lion realizes that there are many things he loves doing, including being and having a friend.

From Love is for Roaring by Mike Kerr, illus. by Renata Liwska

As teachers, we know that understanding any assignment relies on both the teacher's ability to explain it and the student's ability to make connections with it. It's no wonder that Lion, a fearless creature, finds the homework assignment to "Show your Love" to be "impossible, the undoable, the unimaginable" and it causes him much anxiety. Thankfully Mike Kerr gives Lion a friend in Mouse, an animal with infinite wisdom and the patience to help Lion see that love is possible and even familiar. Mike Kerr may be an instructor of illustration at the Alberta University of the Arts but the text of Love is for Roaring suggests that he has the right words to tell a story beyond the artwork. Lion's distress is palpable as is Mouse's concern. And Renata Liwska's illustrations elevate the story with something special. It's a mixture of soft colours, cushioned textures and recognizable body language. From frustration to solemn introspection and playful exertions, Lion and Mouse and their classmates are the children who will read this book and see themselves within the digital artwork. They will know about frustration and wanting to help a friend. They will know distress and confusion and the relief of resolution. Love is for Roaring may be every child's story of uncertainty about school work and finding a connection where one might not have been evident initially.

Canada Fun!

Written and illustrated by Paul Covello

HarperCollins

978-1-4434-5811-5

30 pp.

Ages 0-4

October 2020

It doesn't matter whether there's snow on the ground or leaves in the trees, Paul Covello's latest volume in his Canada series of board books–which includes Canada Animals and Canada 123–shows young readers that there's lots to do in all parts of our country, no matter the season.

 

From Canada Fun! by Paul Covello

In single page illustrations or sweeping double-spreads of multiple activities, Paul Covello highlights a plethora of pursuits that young people, with or without adults in tow, can undertake. From hockey and cross-country skiing in winter or lacrosse and kayaking in the other seasons, Paul Covello covers all manner of endeavours, both organized and not. After all, isn't there as much fun making snow angels and building snow people, or leaf jumping and making maple syrup as playing on a sport?

 

From Canada Fun! by Paul Covello

Even better are the cultural and regional activities that he includes in his Canada Fun! treatise. There's attending a powwow or a ceilidh, watching the northern lights in the north, Winter Carnival in Quebec, whale watching on the coasts or checking out the polar bears. Everywhere that Canadian kids are having fun, Paul Covello makes sure to include them.

From Canada Fun! by Paul Covello

But it's the art–it always is–that will draw young readers. While teachers and reviewers will appreciate the diversity of Paul Covello's characters, scenes and activities, young readers will enjoy the vivid colours, the polished lines and the energetic shapes depicting all children having fun indoors and out in Canada.

From Canada Fun! by Paul Covello

Whether it's to help children see all the fun they can be having–just hand them the book when they start complaining that there's nothing to do!–or to introduce them to activities new to them, Canada Fun! covers it all with gusto and colour, as vibrant and varied as our country and its people.

The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun

Written by Helaine Becker

Illustrated by Claudia Dávila

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-4845-0

175 pp.

Ages 6-13

May 2019

Canada Day has come and gone so summer holidays for kids are truly here in Canada.  While some kids may be off to organized camps and activities, there are many who will be filling their days with caregivers, some at cottages and at travel, and everyone wondering how they will occupy their days.  Helaine Becker's The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun will have you covered for the whole summer.

The book is divided into four main sections: Get Out There!, Make a Splash!, Time to Play! and Around the Campfire.  Get Out There! is all about kids getting outside to discover nature or travel to new locations. It includes everything from creating a kids-only clubhouse and developing secret languages and handshakes and codes to outdoor games like Capture the Flag and Amoeba Tag. There are activities to observe insects, press flowers, hike –I loved the Colour Swatch Scavenger Hunt–and make face-paint. And, of course, there are travel activities for car rides.

From The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun by Helaine Becker, illus. by Claudia Dávila

Make a Splash! includes water sports such as canoeing and fishing, and water-based games such as Sharks and Minnows. There are also water-based activities like making your own bubble solution and blowers, and water balloons. For anyone wary about water-based activities for kids, Helaine Becker rounds things out with a detailed discussion about water safety.

From The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun by Helaine Becker, illus. by Claudia Dávila

Time to Play! covers all manner of games from card games to pen and paper games, and activities such as weaving bracelets, writing a newsletter, taking photos, performing improv or a theatrical play, and studying weather.

Finally, Around the Campfire gets into how campfires are built safely and effectively, how to tell stories, sing songs, make s'mores, roast marshmallows and appreciate the moon and stars above.

From The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun by Helaine Becker, illus. by Claudia Dávila

As a compendium of activities and summertime fun, The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun is complete and comprehensive. There is something for all the kids, from those who want to play alone and read how to do things for themselves, to those who crave full group games and fun with others. There are activities for families and for kids alone. There are those that require nothing but imagination or observational skills and those with recipes to construct a rain stick or bake a chocolate mug cake. With Claudia Dávila's illustrations to enhance delivery of Helaine Becker's messages and directions, The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun provides all children with a slew of distractions to try, helping to entertain them the whole summer, regardless of weather, interests, companions and resources.

An African Alphabet: Printmaking Workshop (Toronto, ON)

Artist Sue Todd

who illustrated

The Incredible Adventures of Mary Jane Mosquito

Written by Tomson Highway

Illustrated by Sue Todd

Fifth House Publishers

978-1-92708-338-3

70 pp.

Ages 14-18

2016

is celebrating her newest children's book

An African Alphabet

Written by Eric Walters

Illustrated by Sue Todd

Orca Book Publishers

9781459810709 

28 pp.

All ages

March 2017

with a Printmaking Workshop

to be held on

Sunday, June 18, 2017

1-3 p.m.

at

Indigo Yonge & Eglinton

2300 Yonge St.

Toronto, ON

There will be:

• a demo of Sue Todd's lino-cut illustration technique;

• printmaking activities;

•stamping and colouring activities; and

• books for sale and signing by the illustrator.

 A fun activity for kids and dads on Father’s Day! 

(Mom’s are welcome too!)

Gabby, Wonder Girl

Written by Joyce Grant

Illustrated by Jan Dolby

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-384-6

32 pp.

Ages 5-7

September 2016

Joyce Grant and Jan Dolby’s little Gabby, of earlier books Gabby (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2013) and Gabby, Drama Queen (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2013), is taking on the world again, this time to solve a mystery of a photograph through questioning.

When Gabby’s friend Roy becomes engulfed in a pile of question marks that he’s released from her magic book–the one that usually just releases a multitude of letters–the two characters become super sleuths, Wonder Girl and Super Roy, on the trail of the person in the black-and-white photograph Gabby discovers in her backyard.  Using letters from the book and the question marks, Gabby creates the wonder-ful “Who?” that helps them realize the girl in the photo is Mrs. Oldham, her neighbour.  But the two can’t find her and have to amalgamate a “w” (wafting in the wind), “h” (half-hidden in a hammock), “e” (in the electric car), “r” (resting on a race track), and another “e” (on Roy’s elbow) with one of the ubiquitous question marks to locate the older woman in the apple tree!  With some reorganization of letters and a slithery snake, the question of “how?” they can get her out of the tree and free her to make a proffered apple pie is solved!

From Gabby, Wonder Girl 

by Joyce Grant, illus. by Jan Dolby

Joyce Grant’s cutie pie shows off her inquisitiveness and invention with gusto and creativity.  Who knew learning to use questions could be so much fun?  With a simple story, Joyce Grant offers very young readers an introduction to letters of the alphabet while manipulating them into words that provide the basis for questions and simple words.  Those of us more proficient in reading know of the versatility of letters to create new words and worlds but, for the very young, Gabby, Wonder Girl will be a revelation in learning housed in an unassuming but entertaining format.  No need to learn about letters from a standard A-B-C book when you have Gabby.  And Jan Dolby makes sure that Gabby, Wonder Girl (as she did in the earlier Gabby books) is a fun read of bright colours and squiggly lines and quirky details like a garden gnome, hedgehogs, butterflies and yards of letters.  Gabby really is a red-haired wonder girl in both language and action, and Roy plays superbly as her masked sidekick.  

From Gabby, Wonder Girl 

by Joyce Grant, illus. by Jan Dolby

Chidlren will love Gabby Wonder Girl, as they have Gabby and Gabby, Drama Queen, but parents and teachers will enjoy helping them experience Gabby’s learning opportunities in the fun word activites and games as well as drawing lesson that Joyce Grant and Jan Dolby provide at the end of the book.  There’s even a Gabby teachers’ guide that can be accessed online at http://joycegrantauthor.com/free-teachers-guide-gabby.  Gabby, Wonder Girl is a big package of learning in a small but bright little marvel of a book.

Summer's On: A Non-Fiction Book List

My final list for the summer includes a few non-fiction books that might be worthwhile to keep young readers occupied during the summer, as well as educate them about our Canadian weather.

NON-FICTION 

38 Ways to Entertain Your Parents on Summer Vacation

by Dette Hunter

Illustrated by Kitty Macaulay

Annick Press

48 pp.

Ages 4-9

2005

Get Outside: The Kids Guide to Fun in the Great Outdoors

by Jane Drake and Ann Love

Illustrated by Heather Collins

Kids Can Press

176 pp.

Ages 8+

2012

The Kids Cottage Book: Official Activity Book of Summer

by Jane Drake and Ann Love

Kids Can Press

208 pp.

1993

The Kids Cottage Games Book: Official Book of Games to Play

by Jane Drake and Ann Love

Kids Can Press

Sun and Storms: Canadian Summer Weather

by Nicole Mortillaro

Scholastic Canada

60 pp.

Ages 7-9

2005

Gabby, Drama Queen

Written by Joyce Grant

Illustrated by Jan Dolby

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-310-5

32 pp.

Ages 3-6

October, 2013

She may not be royalty but never question whether Gabby, the little alphabet miss from Joyce Grant and Jan Dolby's original book (reviewed here January, 2013), is anything but a drama queen!  She has the effervescence, the style, and the imagination, although it will be necessary for those pesky letters to rearrange themselves into the props she and her friend Roy will need.

When Gabby decides that they should put on a play, she brings out her special storybook, the one from which the letters that build words tumble out.  The S and T, A, G and E come together for their platform (though she did have to extract several letters from their previous words), as do other letters for their royal court-based performance.  But, when Roy wants to be a swordfish (yes, a swordfish), Gabby finds a way to adapt the production of "The Perils of Queen Gabriella" to make everyone happy.


Letters and consequently words should definitely be the staple of someone called Gabby, and Joyce Grant puts her orange-haired raconteur to work again with her characteristic spirit.  And Jan Dolby's quirky and colourful illustrations successfully convey the joy that comes from creative play and the amazement that letters go beyond their placement in the alphabet and can provide more inspiration for playful learning.  Gabby has graduated from simple letter recognition to constructing words and ideas as Gabby, Drama Queen and I look forward to her wordsmith skills maturing into bigger and brighter concepts.