An Anthology of Shells by Simon Aiken

A few weeks ago I was browsing the Non-Fiction section of Gleebooks Kids. I found some fabulous titles which, if I was still working in a school library, I would have grabbed to add to my collection.

Shells bookseller blurb: A beautiful collection featuring informative notes, spectacular photographs, and colourful illustrations of more than 100 types of shells. Find out how to identify, where to find, and what to know about the diverse shell species with this gorgeous anthology. Transportable in size and crammed with profiles of different shell species, this beginner's anthology showcases a wide range of shells from around the world that no collection would be complete without. Learn all about the shell shapes, colours, and textures, and get up close with the snails, crabs, and clams that live in them.

There are a number of things that I am slightly obsessive about - puffins, lighthouses, pelicans, picture books, and shells. I guess that is why this book caught my eye and then I saw there were others on terrific topics like beetles, fungi and rocks. My delight in shells links with the book Junonia by Kevin Henkes. 

If you have a library budget that can stretch to approx. AUS$27 per book it would be great to add a few of these to your library - pick out the ones that match the interests of the children in your school. I am sure the Gems one, for example, would have been a massive 'hit' in my library.

Gems (due November 2026) publisher blurb: Unearth the enchanting world of gemstones and discover the stories behind Earth’s most brilliant treasures! What secrets lie hidden within a shimmering amethyst? Which legendary gems have adorned crowns and royal collections for centuries? How do seemingly ordinary rocks transform into breathtaking jewels? An Anthology of Gems invites young readers on a thrilling journey through the world of precious stones – from deep red rubies and ocean-blue sapphires to opalescent moonstones and sparkling emeralds. Uncover the secrets behind every stone’s sparkle – how it forms beneath the earth’s surface and is enriched by the myths and meaning that make it timeless. Filled with vibrant photographs, detailed illustrations, and engaging text, this book is perfect for budding gemologists, history buffs, and anyone who dreams of discovering hidden treasures.

Bookseller blurb: Discover how to identify, where to find, and other details about more than 100 beetles that exist the world over. Did you know one in every four living things on our planet is identified as a beetle? Explore the fascinating world of these tough creatures in the beautifully packaged An Anthology of Beetles. Featuring colourful photographs and vibrant illustrations, this marvellous book helps you discover the lively world of beetles. From the ones that crawl under your feet to those that fly by your eyes or glide in the water, the book showcases these amazing creatures in all their incredible variety. Learn how different species of beetles help pollinate plants, improve soil health, and control pests - all while playing a key role in maintaining nature's balance.

You could pair the Beetles title with this fantastic series:

Beetle Boy; Beetle Queen

Here are all ten titles from the DK Little Anthologies series:

And a page from Fungi:

One Little Dung Beetle by Rhian Williams illustrated by Heather Potter and Mark Jackson

"One little dung beetle rolling up some poo, 
working very hard like a beetle likes to do."

In this clever jaunty rhyming, counting book we meet ten different beetles. MG Leonard, author of Beetle Boy, Beetle Queen and Battle of the Beetles would adore this book - hope it reaches her from Australia. (Note these are for readers aged 10+). Read about Beetle Boy here. And look for Masterpiece by Elise Broach - another wonderful reading experience. 

Now back to this book - yes, One Little Dung Beetle is told in rhyme and hooray the rhyme works so well. But this book is so much more. Yes, it is a counting book too, but it is also filled with rich words such as:

• nudges
• insistently
• drumming
• zooming
• glint
• breeze

And there are so many interesting beetles with more of them illustrated on the final pages - Pie Dish Beetle; Water Penny Beetle; Whirlygig Beetle; Texas Beetle; Jewell Beetle; Bombardier Beetle; and Tortoise Beetle. The ten special beetles from the main book are profiled on the final double spread and yes there are some of my favourites - the Christmas Beetle; Click Beetle; and Rhinoceros Beetle along with a new one (to me) the Feather Horned Beetle. Look out for the Ladybird on the end papers - yes she is a beetle too. And one more bonus - all of the beetles in this book are Australian or found in Australia! Special mention - the end papers are spectacular. Surely these will make you even more curious about beetles.

This book is another fabulous nonfiction discovery. This needs to be added to your school or preschool library - pop it on your list. It's not too expensive (thank goodness). AND I am certain we will see this book on the CBCA (Children's Book of the Year) 2025 Notables list and hopefully even the short list. Here are the teachers notes from the publisher Wild Dog.

With stunning endpapers, and accurate anatomical illustrations throughout, this offers an insight into the prevalence of beetles in the landscape and the critical role they perform in keeping it healthy and vibrant.  ... Give it with the gift of a magnifying glass and see the joy and wonder explode.  The Bottom Shelf

Here's another new counting book I talked about recently:

One Tiny Treefrog

And look for this one too:

Rex the Rhinoceros Beetle

And this one is essential reading:

Where are all the Christmas Beetles?

Where are all the Christmas Beetles by Suzanne Houghton

The end papers in this book are scrumptious. Each page is designed with so much care and the final fact pages are sure to satisfy your curious young reading companion who sadly may not have seen these special little creatures.

"Every year in summer, some visitors come to stay: to eat, drink and be merry, dancing the night away."

"Their glistening little bodies look like baubles on a tree. When they cluster all together it's a wondrous sight to see. But I've some to notice lately they're more difficult to find. I've been wondering what has happened; it's been playing on my mind."

Thankfully talented author and illustrator Suzanne Houghton has introduced this fascinating but slowly disappearing insect to a new generation of readers. With a delightful cover and gorgeous endpapers, rhyming prose and stunning illustrations, Where are all the Christmas Beetles? is a wonderful factual narrative to share with young children. ReadPlus

 I grew up in suburban Sydney. My mum and dad "won" their block of land and dad cleared part of the block ready for their new house, but he left a small area of natural bush at the front of the property and this is where I remember finding Christmas Beetles. Their colourful shells fascinated me and I remember their sharp little 'claws' but recently Christmas Beetles have disappeared. This new book is very timely. In Australia we associate these beetles with Christmas, and so it is wonderful to have a very different very Australian book to share with children at Christmas in a country where we don't see snow and it is summer not winter.

This book should be added to every Primary school library here in Australia and I expect to see it listed as a Children's Book Council of Australia Eve Pownall (Non Fiction) Notable title. Congratulations to the CSIRO on producing another splendid book that will delight and inform children.

Christmas Beetles are a type of scarab (a group that includes dung beetles and chafers). Compared to other scarabs, Christmas Beetles (genus Anoplognathus) are large and chunky, somewhat flattened in shape and with metallic brown, yellow or pink colours. There are 36 species in the genus with all but one unique (endemic) to Australia, and 21 species found in New South Wales with at least 10 species occurring in Sydney and the Blue Mountains region. The adults generally feed on eucalypt leaves. They prefer open woodland to forest and thrive in pastures wherever trees have been left in place. Australian Museum

Websites to explore:

Australian Museum

Gardening4Kids

Listen to this radio broadcast (3 minutes)

Watch a video Australian Environmental Science

Image source: Brisbane Insects

Australian Geographic

Brisbane Insects - a page filled with photos

Book review The Bottom Shelf

The website for the author Suzanne Houghton is filled with riches for you to explore. I talked about Christmas Beetles when I shared Leaf Stone Beetle by Ursula Dubosarsky (a small but mighty book well worth hunting out in your library).

Another warm memory I have relating to Christmas Beetles is of a Christmas party at the home of a friend about 25 years ago. There were lots of young children at this family party so my friend set out some simple craft activities for the children and one was to make a Christmas Beetle. We used split pins to layer the wings and waxed lunch wrap for the transparent layer. I wish I had a photo to share. 

I saw this book briefly in a bookstore last week. I haven't had a chance to read it but it is another Australian picture book for young children featuring our Christmas Beetle.

See more on the Author web site - Laura Bunting

The Seed by Isabel Pin translated by Rosemary Lanning

 

"Once upon a time - in a small, distant part of the great, wide world - there were two tribes ... "

This is such a powerful opening sentence filled with story possibilities. Now think about the names of the tribes - the Scarabs and the Chafers. Perhaps you have heard of scarab beetles but I had not heard of chafers. 

When an object falls from the sky the two tribes set out to investigate using very different methods. The Scarabs "scraped splinters from its surface and took them to their scientists who examined them with the very latest scientific instruments." The Chafers, make notes and sketches and their scholars review all their historical records to compare with this new object. Happily both groups come to the same conclusion. The object is a cherrystone. 

"There was only one problem. The cherrystone had come to rest right on the border." And so, as you will have guessed, a war begins with weapons and strategies. Years pass. Meanwhile the seed ...

I will leave you to guess the scene when the two tribes finally confront each other across their battle line. 

One day a seed drops from the sky and lands right on the border between two territories. The tribes on both sides of the border immediately claim it. ""This means war!"" their leaders declare. Both sides prepare for battle with great inventiveness, creating huge arsenals of deadly weapons, and drawing up complicated plans of attack. But ironically, in the midst of all these preparations, the seed itself is quietly providing the simple solution that the tribes, in their haste, have overlooked. Google

The Seed is of course long out of print. It was originally published with the title Der Kern in 2001.

Here are some of the illustrations - they really appeal to me.

Pin's "unusual" artwork is "filled with texture," noted School Library Journal contributor Marianne Saccardi, the critic adding that the "fantastical creatures"—part cockroach and part bee—are imaginatively rendered. Encyclopedia.com

A possible companion book would be this one:

It fell from the Sky

And if you want to read a less serious book about mysterious objects and beetles try to find this one.

Babak the Beetle

Isabel Pin is a new discovery of mine. She is an award-winning illustrator who has published more than 40 books, received numerous awards, and was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2011 and 2012. Born in France, she lives in Berlin, Germany.

The Seed is another terrific book from North South - I would love to visit a library one day, such as the International Youth Library in Munich and explore all of their titles - every book from this publisher that I have discovered is such a treasure. 

Many years ago I worked with my Grade Five students exploring Picture books on the theme of conflict resolution. Here are some of the books we explored - and I do wish I had also included The Seed.

Two Giants

If Only ... by Mies van Hout translated by David Colmer

"The child thought, 

If only I were a butterfly.

Then I could fly everywhere."

"The whirligig beetle thought,

If only I were a firefly.

Then I'd never be scared of the dark."

You might like to begin with my previous post about the wonderful Dutch illustrator Mies van Hout.

Which insect would you like to be? Stick insects blend in; bees have lots of friends; ladybugs are adorable; and grasshoppers can jump over things.

If only ... is such a terrific title. So much to talk and think about.  If you love the illustrations of Eric Carle then you are sure to equally love this book. On the final pages, Mies gives her readers a page of instructions on how to make collage art. She also has a double page spread with extra facts about each of the insects found in this book. I didn't know about whirligig beetles - they have this name because they swim in fast circles on the surface of the water.

Publisher blurb Pajama Press: What child has not daydreamed about having wings like a butterfly? But secretly, the flashy butterfly yearns for a stick insect’s privacy. And the stick insect wants to swim like a whirligig beetle.  One after the other, the denizens of bestselling author-illustrator Mies van Hout’s vibrant garden landscape wish to be like somebody else. From the glowing firefly to the capable spider to the adorable ladybugs, each one brings something to be admired. And when the dragonfly wishes to be like a child who can run, play, laugh, and build, a world of possibilities opens up.  A gentle but effective story for social emotional learning, If Only… allows children to reach their own conclusions and acknowledge that while it’s common to compare ourselves to others, it’s best to remember and celebrate what we ourselves can do.

If you speak Dutch here is a video where Mies talks about her book. The Dutch title is Was ik maar... You can see the ants from this book - I think they are terrific.

This new book (published 2021) is quite expensive here in Australia but if you have a little money I highly recommend adding this book to the collection of a preschool or primary school library. Here is a very detailed teacher guide from Pajama Press (Canada).

This gentle celebration of differences also promotes an appreciation of others’ strengths and quietly emphasises relationships within the animal kingdom. Kirkus

A visual delight, this picture book offers openings for conversation about wishes, predictions, and one’s own enviable strengths. School Library Journal

Other reviewers use words such as luminous, radiant, vivid and thought-provoking.

It seems obvious to pair this book with the books of Eric Carle and other illustrators who use collage but another possibility for a book to read along side If Only could be this very old book about being happy with who you are - The Mouse with the too long tail. Sadly this book, which I adore, is long out of print but you might find a copy in a library.  

One more thing - here is the bee page - it is scrumptious.

Out of Nowhere by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros

Beetle and his friend Caterpillar enjoy picnics on their rock. In the evenings, while Beetle sleeps, Caterpillar gazes at the moon. Stop right here - yes this is a friendship between a beetle and a caterpillar. No problem with that except it's a caterpillar!! What will happen? Now read about Farfallina and Marcel.  

Yes, the little caterpillar is going to change - he is going to make his cocoon.  Remember the famous book The Very Hungry Caterpillar ...

Beetle does not know about metamorphosis. All he knows is his friend has disappeared. Your young reader now knows more than poor old Beetle - we can all see the cocoon is under the rock ledge but Beetle does not think to look down. He sees a glimpse of red in the forest and so he picks up the very heavy picnic basket and sets off to find his true friend. It is a beautiful moment when the pair of friends are reunited. These words are so important:

 "Then I looked more closely. And I just knew. It was my friend! She had changed a little bit but it was still my friend all the same."

One of the truly special aspects of this book is the way Chris Naylor-Ballesteros allows the pictures to speak for themselves. There are four double page spreads with no text.  His pencil illustrations in black and white with an accent of the red caterpillar and later red butterfly give a 'child like' quality to this book which would be perfect to read aloud to a preschool group.

I adored The Suitcase by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros so when I saw his name on the cover of Out of Nowhere I grabbed this book!

I would pair Out of Nowhere with these:

Rex The Rhinoceros Beetle by M.G. Leonard illustrated by Duncan Beedie

This book caught my eye because I adored Beetle Boy by MG Leonard. Now she has written a beetle picture book.

Buster has found a huge banana. His friend Rex is VERY impressed when Buster describes the way he climbed a huge tree, cut down the banana with his sharp horn and defeated an angry snake but is this really a tall tale? The truth is revealed with the arrival of a hungry chimp. The chimp takes the banana and then reaches out to snack on a tasty beetle or two. Rex expects his friend to spring into action but instead Buster cowers in fear.

In addition to a fun story about truth and lies, heroism and loyalty, Rex The Rhinoceros Beetle also contains four pages of facts about the rhinoceros beetle.  Did you know:

• Only boy rhinoceros beetle have horns
• Baby rhinoceros beetles eat rotting wood
• Rhinoceros beetles can't bite or sting or hurt you
• Their horns are hollow and light
• Rhinoceros beetles live everywhere except Antarctica

Here is a video of MG Leonard talking about her book and then reading Rex The Rhinoceros Beetle.

MG Leonard loves insects especially beetles. If you are looking for a brilliant Middle Grade series I highly recommend all the book in the Beetle Boy series:

Bring me a rock! by Daniel Miyares

This is another one of those deceptively simply picture books which you could read to a young child or use as a discussion starter with a group of older students.

King Grasshopper demands his 'subjects' bring him a rock. He has plans to stand on a tower and exert his authority. Everyone complies even the smallest beetle who brings the heaviest 'rock' he can carry. The Grasshopper King is furious. This so called 'rock' is just a pebble. He sends the beetle away.

His tower is now tall and commanding but it is also very unstable. The Grasshopper King cries out in alarm. The tower is about to topple over. Luckily for the grasshopper,  that little beetle has hung around.  "I have an idea!".  He slips his pebble into exactly the right spot at the bottom of the tower of rocks and saves the King.

This is the point in the story where I would stop with an older group and talk about character and plot decisions.  How will the Grasshopper King react?  How should the Grasshopper King react? Who made him the King? How would you feel right now if you were the beetle?   What about his 'subjects'?

Now I will share how Daniel Miyares continues his story. Here is the dialogue between the Grasshopper King and the humble beetle:

King - "You saved my life! However can I repay you?"
Beetle - "Bring me those rocks!"

Are you thinking the beetle has plans to build himself a tower and claim the throne? The next, wordless page may surprise your readers. We see the beetle has organised the building of  seven towers all of equal height (think about why that is interesting and perhaps important) and all seven of the insects (formerly subjects) climb to the top of their own tower.

As for the Grasshopper King - well I can only say his face says it all - he is not at all happy!

This is an expensive picture book here in Australia and it is not available in paperback but I did find an ebook edition on the publisher web site. I think this book would be a splendid addition to a Primary school library. It only contains 70 words but, like all good fables, it contains a story with a powerful universal message. The illustrations remind me of Eric Carle. An art teacher could use these illustrations as a basis for some very creative work with students.

Beautifully executed art, expressive bugs, and spare but pointed—arguably Marxist—text create a tale for all ages. 
Kirkus Star review


Here are some other books by Daniel Miyares: