Let’s Eat Bugs!

Gr 2-4–This book begins with a brief history of Mexican eating habits. Mexicans eat bugs because they enjoy eating them. Bugs—worms, stink bugs, insect eggs, and more—are tasty, healthy (filled with protein and minerals), and easy to find. What follows are double-page spreads: one that highlights a specific bug with fun facts, physical description, a drawing and/or photo, its food history in Mexico, and lots of descriptions of how people enjoy them. The second double-page spread includes more fun facts and recipes. For example, the entry on Chapulines, or grasshoppers, includes the fact that after they are collected they are stored in a covered clay jar until they empty their digestive tracts. Mexicans found so many grasshoppers where they established their capital city, that they called it Chapultepec or “hill of grasshoppers,” and there is a photo of a grasshopper statue in a park in Mexico City. That is followed by a recipe for grasshoppers in garlic. This title is wonderful for browsing, for recipes, or just for the information on bug-eating. Many readers will enjoy the yuck aspect of the bugs being eaten and some will enjoy all the fun facts, while others will enjoy the terrific photos and the recipes. Some will also recognize the cultural aspect of eating bugs and the author’s enthusiasm for a food choice not common in the United States.