"Curious facts about familiar invertebrates are packaged with a magnifying glass for extended observations. Spread by spread, this cheery collection of infobits describes the creepy-crawlies of the world: butterflies, stick insects, beetles, ladybugs, worms, centipedes, snails, spiders, flies, ants and bees . The background is a stylized illustration suggesting an environment where the creature might be found: the leaves of a tree for ladybugs, a table full of sweets for flies, beehives inside and out. A short introduction to the group appears at the top right-hand corner of the page followed by a circular illustration of the three or four stages of its life cycle. After that, factoids are scattered around the pages, each with a quick headline: 'dinosaur playmates'; 'slow snail race'; 'spider soup.' There are occasional humorous additions that might just help youngsters remember about species differences. Each page also includes a suggestion for further exploration in the real world using the surprisingly effective plastic magnifier embedded in the cover .  an engaging invitation to explore the world of small creatures.

" -- Kirkus Reviews "Inviting earthworms, centipedes, spiders, and snails into the buggy fold, Li presents a browser's buffet of common creepy-crawlies, capped with instructions for a soda bottle worm farm and other low-budget activities. On spreads arranged in no particular order, she covers 11 creatures--including flies, ants, ladybugs, and stick insects. Along with devoting most of the section on beetles to the ever-popular dung beetle, and elsewhere often zeroing in on similarly memorable species, she livens up basics about life cycles, diets, and common behaviors with tasty observations like, 'In olden days a broth made of snail mucus was used to cure sore throats.' . The attractive painted illustrations are small and occasionally slightly camouflaged, which will encourage readers to use the detachable . magnifying glass attached. Young naturalists will enjoy a scuttle through this broad but informative survey." -- Booklist  .