The wonderful wisdom of ants by Philip Bunting
Scholastic, 2020. ISBN: 9781743834084. 32pp.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. While showcasing some astonishing
facts about ants, Bunting is cleverly using their lives to promote
our sustained use of the planet, to finish his story with 'leave the
earth in better shape than it was when you got here', a sentiment
exemplified by one of the smallest of creatures which practises
recycling, is omnivorous, cares for the rest of the colony and helps
others. With lashings of humour, Bunting shows us the ants' traits:
power napping, working together, thinking more of the community than
themselves, with an emphasis on family.
A wonderful map of an ants' nest will give readers an overview of
the intricacy involved in being an ant. An ant colony is huge and
for it to work, everyone must work together. Bunting gives an
outline of the different sorts of ants and their roles within the
colony: the queen, simply there to reproduce, the worker, soldier,
drone and princesses, all there with a specific job to do. Readers
will love the smart way Bunting outlines their roles in life. Ants
use their sense of smell to find food, leaving a trail of pheromones
for other ants to follow to that food source. And they are
omnivorous, recycle and work together. Each page Bunting makes the
point that these little creatures care much more for the planet than
we do, working with each other to make the most of what they find,
leading to the quote on the last two pages which will initiate
thought and discussion amongst the laughing and engaged readers.
Bunting shows us through humour that the problems of the world can
be solved if we followed the life of an ant and its colony.
The wonderful illustrations provoke the reader as the ant stares out
at us, willing us to take hold of what the ant teaches. The front
cover has the ant shouldering the world, illustrating how their
skills are what we need to emulate. Believing that the answers to
many of life's questions can be found in our own back yard,
Queensland author, Bunting has produced a book which will provoke
and prod us all to look more closely at what lies in front of our
eyes.
I love his work and laughed out loud at Mopoke,
Another
book about bears, and Bad crab, to name a few.
Themes: Ants, Conservation, Family.
Fran Knight