In Part IV of my series on Building a Nonfiction Classroom Library, I am going to explore the two-thirds of the world of Arthropods, insects and arachnids. The third section, crustaceans, will be added to the ocean/marine life post when I get to it. If you have missed any of the earlier posts, I have included the links below.

Part I - Introduction | Part II - Biographies | Part III - Animals/Mammals

When I was student teaching, in the day before the internet, I was assigned to teach a unit on insects to third graders. It was early fall in New Hampshire and there were still plenty of bugs to be found on the playground at that time of year. Yes, it would have been great if it was winter and all of the insects were hibernating somewhere. However, I was not that fortunate. Students, though, were so excited about this unit that they would bring me presents after recess. I could have done without these gifts, but even after 25 years in education, I see students still get excited about creepy crawly things.

Bugs and Spiders play a prominent role in children's fiction. There are dozens and dozens of picture books, which feature all kinds insects. Eric Carle's books have been front and center in many a lesson in preschool and kindergarten classrooms.

And let's not forget the most famous spider of all -Charlotte in Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.

However, as nonfiction books for children continue to grow and expand, there are dozens of books about spiders, and all sorts of insects. There are numerous encyclopedia style fact books about bugs and spiders. And since insects and spiders are critical to most ecosystems, there is a significant number of books, which include how an assortment of creepy crawlies play a prominent role in a healthy environment.

As I have mentioned in the previous posts, this list is just to pique your interest in exploring some of the quality trade books that have come out in the last 5 to 8 years, and to have a variety of books to consider adding to your classroom. You may have, also, noticed that some of my favorite authors from previous posts show up here as well.

Here are some of wonderful nonfiction for kids on insects and spiders, including a few collections of poetry.