The Secret Life of the Woolly Bear Caterpillar (Secret Life)

K-Gr 3--In this picture-book equivalent of watching a nature documentary, Bella, a woolly bear caterpillar eats, molts, and eats again in a months-long journey through forests, gardens, and lawns. Potential perils come in the form of a garter snake, a blue jay, and a passing car, though Bella gets through the dangers intact. Italicized insect terms are smoothly incorporated into the story, such as how the three pairs of her "true legs" attached to her thorax allow her to hold a leaf steady when she chews and help her climb. Colorful cut-paper drawings bring Bella and her world to life, emphasizing the texture of her fuzzy-looking black-and-orange body and gloriously displaying the wingspan of the tiger moth she becomes. Further information and a diagram of a woolly bear caterpillar are included in the back matter, all the better to satisfy insect-loving readers.--Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"The author of more than 100 children's books looks closely at a familiar creature. Naming but not otherwise anthropomorphizing this stealthy survivor, Pringle follows Bella the woollly bear through a jungle of grasses, clovers, and wild flowers . . . Paley's colorful cut-paper and mixed-media illustrations show off Bella and her neighbors nicely . . . Straightforward and informative." —Kirkus Reviews

"Pringle (Scorpions!, 2013) informatively narrates the life of a banded woolly caterpillar called Bella, so named for its species, the Isabella tiger moth. . . Each page presents plenty of material for discussion, and an afterword offers more information on banded woolly caterpillars and a glossary of terms used in the text . . ." —Booklist

"In this picture-book equivalent of watching a nature documentary, Bella, a woolly bear caterpillar eats, molts, and eats again in a months-long journey through forests, gardens, and lawns. . . Colorful cut-paper drawings bring Bella and her world to life, emphasizing the texture of her fuzzy-looking black-and-orange body and gloriously displaying the wingspan of the tiger moth she becomes. Further information and a diagram of a woolly bear caterpillar are included in the back matter, all the better to satisfy insect-loving readers." —School Library Journal