Bug Off!

I just found this book and I think it's amazing. Being a teacher, I know that it is hard to teach kids how to "chunk" words. That is...break it into smaller words. This book is awesome at demonstrating that strategy! Besides the instructional value, it's also just plain fun!

What a fun book!! Cathi has used her fabulous illustrating talent to create a book of words. Not just words, but insects. Now, what do kids like more than school and tests? Insects, especially nasty things like insects. A wonderful way to trick kids into learning language, by letting them have fun too.Am I a teacher? No. Do I have children? No. Do I love this book? Yes!! I ordered it and have thouroughly enjoyed it. Not just for kids, parents and teachers, but for anyone who loves words and great illustrations.

Cathi Hepworth's "Bug Off!" is just plain good fun for all insect-loving kids. Hepworth manages to find insect names within other words and does illustrations to accompany these--for instance, she finds GNAT in "staGNATe" and shows a wee gnat lazily taking a nap in a swamp. She shows a wee child MOTH being "sMOTHered" with kisses and gives us a hilarious illustration of a group of colorfully-dressed LICE posing for the photo on their drivers' LICEnse. It takes only a few minutes to look through this book, but it will really get you--and your kids--thinking and looking for other insect names within other words. Lots of fun!