I posted a Preschool mini-unit on Ants earlier this week. As I put that unit together, I researched and read many wonderful books on the little critter. Here are the top books on my list.
These books are generally geared at 4-9-year-old children. The best part about all these books is that they will ignite a child’s desire to learn more.
Ants are accessible to us humans as we often see them in our own backyards and playgrounds. Identifying these ants will now become a whole new activity for your children.
Children’s Books about Ants
Hey, Little Ant
Hey, Little Ant grew on me. I imagined myself as a young child. A young child would find this book funny. The clever illustrations will draw a child into the story. The words will make a child wonder about ants.
The boy in the story wants to squish an ant but strikes up a conversation with the ant. The ant, essentially pleading for his life, helps the boys understand a bit more about why his life matters.
It is sweet and endearing a la Miss Spider’s Tea Party. This book does not go into real facts, but the book will hook a child.
Ants and Their Nests
Ants and Their Nests is a wonderful book to add to your classroom or home library. Children will enjoy perusing the pages. The real-life illustrations highlight the amazing features and facts about ants and their homes.
The Life and Times of the Ant
The Life and Times of the Ant is an information book about ants. I really enjoyed this author’s book on honeybees. So I thought this one must be at least as good a teaching tool. The book describes how ants differ from other insects, especially in their socialization, and describes the unique ways ants communicate.
I really liked the easy layout of the members of the ant family and the lifecycle. Plus the book lets children know how important ants are within our ecosystem.
The illustrations and format with text make the books simple to follow and to read to children. The illustrations get a bit silly, yet still quite clever, at times but children will have loads of fun.
Gets Ants in Its Pants: A Book about Ants
Gets Ants in Its Pants: A Book about Ants is a classic Magic School Bus book. Even though ridiculously unrealistic, these books are amazingly effective at hooking children. Kids love the topics. I am all for getting children excited about learning more.
Somehow Joanna Cole, the author, manages to give the critters much due respect. This book about ants is no exception. It covers all the bases of the world of ants in a Magic School Bus kind of way. This book is fun and will certainly draw a child into wanting to learn more.
Ants (Creepy Critters)
Ants (Creepy Critters) is a book geared toward younger children. The rhymes are cute and interactive bringing the child into the learning quickly and easily. The illustrations are simple and include real-life images of ants.
The book covers a number of body parts with a lot of counting, and types of ants with a focus on different colors, habitats, feeding, and life cycle. A sweet book that is sure to interest younger children.
Tiny Workers: Ants in Your Backyard
Tiny Workers: Ants in Your Backyard is a wonderfully illustrated and written book that will undoubtedly appeal to children. The book gives a description of the body, eating and mating habits, and the lifecycle of the ant. The nerdy side of me particularly liked the anatomy diagram.
Are You an Ant?
I adore Are You an Ant?. The illustrations are lovely and the words speak directly to the child. The author relates the life of an ant to the reader in a way that a child will not want to harm but instead learn more about ants.
This book is a great one to include in a unit on ants or social insects. This book will ignite a child’s interest in science.
One Hundred Hungry Ants
One Hundred Hungry Ants is not a book that will teach a child about the life of an ant (except that ants are busy). The book is well written in a rhyming fashion using ants as the tool to introduce young children to basic math concepts, such as skip counting and multiplication.
The illustrations are smart. Kids will love them. I imagine using this book along with concrete objects, such as mini ants, beads, or small blocks. Children may even get a hint at more complex topics such as leadership and strategy. The only criticism is the ending but I can live with it.
March with the Ants
March with the Ants is a perfect book to introduce ants to your classroom or children. The illustrations are beautiful. The words read like a story even though the book is largely non-fiction describing lifecycle, environment, and body parts. My boys (ages 3 and 4.5) had a lot of questions as we read through this book.
Army Ant Parade
I was pleasantly surprised by Army Ant Parade. The illustrations and content drew my sons into the narrative. Reading the book took a great deal of time.
I was bombarded with loads of questions about the ants, their swarm, and the ecosystem within which these ants live. My sons clearly became captivated with the ants, rather than afraid or creeped out by them, which was my goal in teaching them a bit more about the amazing qualities of these small insects.
National Geographic Readers: Ants
National Geographic Readers: Ants are a must-have for your home or classroom. What I love most about these books are the real images and the simple layout. National Geographic does a fantastic job of not overstimulating the child.
The Ants Go Marching (Classic Books With Holes)
The Ants Go Marching (Classic Books With Holes) is one of my favorite songs to sing with my children. They giggle, participate in rhyming and counting, and move their bodies! I love Childs Play’s Classic Books with Holes. The illustrations are fun, and the kids love to follow along.
I hope you enjoyed this list. Please let me know your favorite books about insects! I am always looking for new and exciting ones! Be sure to check out my Parts of an Ant printable!
Marnie