View source for Mad About Minibeasts! by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz

{{infobox2
|title=Mad About Minibeasts!
|author=Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz
|reviewer=Ruth Ng
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Colourful, fun, rhyming book all about minibeasts.  Perfect for your little garden explorers!
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=32
|publisher=Orchard	
|date=June 2011
|isbn=978-1408309469
|website=http://www.orchardbooks.co.uk/AuthorDetails.aspx?id=30636
|video=QDKafdAfON8
|aznuk=1408309467
|aznus=1408309467
|cover=1408309467
}}

Is your little one mad about minibeasts?  Are they forever summoning you to come and see the spider in the bathroom or the ladybird on the log?  If so then this rhyming book is perfect to read with them!

The book begins with a little introduction and then it's divided into separate rhymes for each mini beast.  We meet everyone from slug to earwig to bee to dragonfly.  They all have their own illustrated one-verse rhyme, before a final night time conclusion.

The illustrations are great - lots of colourful, appealing pictures.  All of the mini beasts featured look reassuringly inoffensive, apart from the spider who disturbingly has two teeth poking out giving him a sort of vampire look!  I'm not a fan of spiders at the best of times, but since his hungry looks are directed towards the bug-eyed flies whizzing around by his web rather than any humans I'm hoping that he's harmless!  The slugs meanwhile look rather appealing (and I've never had that reaction to the ones in my garden!) but my favourite was the dragonfly with the pretty eyelashes and stained-glass wings.

The rhymes vary, some with the feel of a limerick, others with a more traditional rhyming pattern.  There aren't any that are too clunky or awkward so they're fun to read out loud.  My favourite is the one about the earwig which goes:

''I like to feed on tasty plants''<br>
''And trees that have gone rotten,''<br>
''But the weirdest thing about me''<br>
''Is these pincers on my bottom!''

Although aimed at little tots it's surprisingly educational in places, describing how caterpillars change into butterflies, the way ants work together as a team and how grasshoppers make their noises.

This book is perfect for a nursery school/playgroup age children and would work well within nursery sessions about nature, bugs and gardening.  The rhymes are fun to read aloud, and the format of the book allows you to either read it all the way through or to dip in and out to focus on specific minibeasts. 

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Further reading suggestion:
This author/illustrator combo have worked together before and if you enjoyed this you might also like to try [[Commotion In The Ocean by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz|Commotion in the Ocean]].  We've also seen [[ABC Animal Rhymes For You And Me by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz]].

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