A Perfect Spot – Isabelle Simler

A Perfect Spot by Isabelle Simler
Published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers on April 5, 2022
Genres: Children's
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four-half-stars

A ladybug needs a safe place to lay her eggs, but where can she find an open spot? Katydids flutter in the leaves, stick insects hide in the branches, and thorn bugs pop out from every available stem. Even those bright pink flowers are orchid mantises ready to strike! Will any of these creatures be the right neighbors for the ladybug’s eggs? 
Illustrated with lush, vibrant details, A Perfect Spot is a fascinating introduction to the diverse world of arthropods. Acclaimed creator Isabelle Simler presents a bug’s eye view of camouflage, metamorphosis, and other natural wonders.

An explosion of color that reveals the mysteries of the tiny animal world, A Perfect Spot details the life of a ladybug as it flits from here to there in an attempt to find a place to rest. Along the way, it discovers that what at first appears to be an empty area is actually teeming with life.

Searching for somewhere safe to lay her eggs, she flies up to a bush and lands on a twig. No one’s there.

But turn the page and all the twigs have turned into bugs.

Stick insects gather, furious and snarling. Scarlet with shame, the ladybug zooms off at once.

Isabelle Simler also gives voice to the stick bugs through speech bubbles that pop up, further emphasizing the change from looking like nobody was around to a place crawling with life. Repeat again and again as the ladybug encounters life among the hiddenness of leaves and branches and flowers until finally finding a good place to rest and lay her eggs.

A Perfect Spot is the perfect book for an early elementary science class. Simler captures the wonder and majesty of the world often hidden to us at our feet or in the trees. The story opens up questions about why insects are made to camouflage themselves or what different kind of bugs exist or any one of a hundred questions little kids have about the world.

The last two panels give a detailed scientific overview of the ladybug and other animals that appear in the book (for those overachievers). Whether a toddler just learning about bugs or an elementary student studying them more closely, A Perfect Spot is attention-grabbing, colorful, and fun.

four-half-stars