Gr 4—6—"Art by the numbers" takes on new meaning in this rewarding book, complete with foldout flaps, carefully shaped and color coordinated to maximize their visual impact. This companion volume to Alphabeasties and Other Amazing Types (Blue Apple, 2009) uses numbers instead of letters to depict its subjects. An ant features a combination of 1's, 2's, and 3's to form its tripartite body; a cockroach skitters in a mad rush of 168's (the total number of hours, says one caption, a decapitated roach can survive before it dies of thirst). A nifty foundation of factoids marches artistically along the flamboyant color silhouettes at the bottom and sides of the oversize pages, or clamor here and there on the skillfully designed flaps, while tiny sentences of text whisper across white spaces like miniature passing eddies of air. The female mantis, made from 180's to reflect the number of degrees its head can turn, the authors state reassuringly, only eats its mate 20 percent of the time. A warning note informs children that hungry bedbugs "can travel 100 feet to feed." Data aside (no matter how fascinating), it is the colorful graphic artwork that will capture casual browsers, letting them soak up the hues and the shapes and the skittery numbers, all the while absorbing information effortlessly.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Nearly two dozen different creepy crawlies are showcased on eye-catching double-page spreads, many of which include foldouts. For each featured insect, several number-based facts are shared (e.g., a beetle is "so strong it can carry 850 times its own weight"). Relevant numeric digits (e.g., 850) are repeated in different sizes--à la text mosaics--to form the shape of each bug.
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