Creepy Crawlies

There are many ways to confront the insect kingdom. You can shriek and wave a rolled-up newspaper like a Victorian melodrama heroine, or you can lean forward with a magnifying glass and whisper, “Good heavens, what an extraordinary creature.” Creepy Crawlies (1995) by Londa Jennings and Louise Gardner firmly belongs to the second camp. It is a cheerful invitation to look more closely at the tiny six-legged population that has been quietly occupying your garden, your shed, and possibly the inside of your windowsill plant pot.

Published in the innocent mid-1990s, when educational books still believed children might be persuaded to take an interest in nature rather than a glowing rectangle, this volume cheerfully introduces the reader to beetles, spiders, ants, and a whole cast of miniature characters who spend their lives performing feats of engineering and survival that would embarrass most civilisations. These are the creatures that can lift many times their own body weight, spin silk stronger than steel, and build underground cities while you are still looking for the kettle.

Jennings and Gardner approach the subject with a reassuring mixture of curiosity and gentle encouragement. Instead of treating insects as the villains of picnics and kitchen cupboards, they present them as fascinating neighbours who simply happen to have more legs than the average dinner guest. The tone is educational without ever becoming solemn, and the pages feel like the literary equivalent of turning over a stone in the garden and discovering a bustling metropolis underneath.

Naturally, the book also carries a subtle message: the natural world is far more complicated, ingenious, and entertaining than it first appears. A child who reads this may find themselves suddenly interested in ants marching across the patio or the elaborate architecture of a spider’s web. An adult reader, meanwhile, may discover an uneasy respect for the tiny organisms that have been quietly running the planet for several hundred million years.

As a copy from Crappy Old Books, this particular specimen arrives in good condition, meaning it has survived the passing decades with only minor signs of previous ownership. One imagines it may once have been consulted during earnest garden expeditions, perhaps by a young naturalist armed with a jam jar and a heroic disregard for muddy knees.

If you have ever wondered what is really going on beneath the leaves, behind the shed, or along the garden path after rain, Creepy Crawlies is ready to explain. Just be warned: once you start looking closely, the world suddenly becomes much busier than you realised. And some of its most industrious citizens are about the size of a grain of rice.

Keep browsing: See more Kids books Other books by Londa Jennings and Louise Gardner