Bompa’s Insect Expedition
by David Suzuki with Tanya Lloyd Kyi; illus. by Qin Leng
Primary    Greystone Kids    48 pp.
9/23    9781771648820    $17.62

In this picture book created in partnership with the David Suzuki Institute (a Canadian environmentalist organization), twins Nakina and Kaoru know to expect adventure when their grandfather, Bompa, comes to visit, but they never know where he’ll take them. Equipped with a field journal and a well-stocked backpack, the children are surprised, and maybe a little disappointed, when Bompa announces that they’re staying close to home to search for insects. What could there be to learn about bugs? Bompa proves to be a wealth of information as Kaoru and Nakina find their questions along the way. They imagine themselves as dragonflies with big eyes and lightweight exoskeletons and as caterpillars eating two-hundred times their weight in food. Their curiosity ranges from the simple (“are insects animals?”) to the existential (“what if we [humans] disappeared?”), and Bompa’s answers illuminate the ways that insects of every kind (yes, even mosquitoes) have skills and roles to play in an ecosystem. The commendable detail and specificity in each watercolor illustration invite readers’ own explorations down each divergent path and among every tall blade of grass. Back matter provides more information about specific insects, ways to help insects in a child’s community, and ideas for backyard expeditions.

From the November/December 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.