The Sixth Annual GROG Arthropod Roundtable

hosted by Sue Heavenrich

Welcome to the Sixth Annual Arthropod Roundtable! Grab your cuppa, pull up a chair, and please help me welcome our guests. 

Laura Gehl is a former science teacher and scientist who is now a full-time children’s book author. So it almost makes sense that most of her books center around science and nature themes. Her newest board book is Odd Bugs , the third in a series that includes Odd Beasts and Odd Birds. 

“When I was doing research for Odd Beasts, I came across a lot of fascinating bugs and couldn’t wait to give them their own book,” says Laura.

Melissa Stewart is a science writer, children’s book author, and avid nature lover. Her new picture book is Monarch and Mourning Cloak: A Butterfly Journal. While visiting schools to take about her earlier butterfly book, A Place for Butterflies (published in 2006) she noticed that many students raise monarchs. She also noticed that they thought all butterfly species have similar lives and habitats. 

“Butterflies are an incredibly diverse group of insects,” Melissa points out. “So, in 2008 I began writing a book called Two Butterflies, Two Lives to help kids understand the variety of foods butterflies eat, the different habitats they call home, and the many ways they survive winter weather.” Over the years, that book evolved into Monarch and Mourning Cloak!

Karen Jameson is a retired elementary school teacher and author of lyrical, rhyming picture books. Insects have found their way into several of her books (including the beetles and dragonflies in It's Time to Shine). There’s even more bugs in her newest book, Who Nests Here?

“Insects have such unique ways of nesting,” says Karen. “I spotlight gall wasps, mole crabs, scorpions, and devil crayfish in my new book. And who wouldn’t thrill to see a termitarium – a giant termite nest?!

Katherine Hocker is a science illustrator, naturalist, and educator with an inordinate fondness for aquatic insects. Her new book, When You See Us, takes us on a field trip into the mysterious and fascinating world of aquatic insects. 

"They are some of the most watchable wildlife I know,” says Katherine. “They live pretty much everywhere on Earth, and are easy to find and observe. When you consider that they live double lives as some of our most familiar winged insects, such as dragonflies and mosquitoes, everyone should know about them!”

Jenni Walsh writes novels for kids and adults. She confesses that she didn’t know how cool bugs were until she was researching their defense mechanisms for her middle-grade tale of mystery and thievery, The Bug Bandits. 

“My book is inspired by a real heist that occurred at the Philadelphia Insectarium," says Jenni. "Over $40,000 worth of rare insects were stolen – and I found this utterly fascinating. In the book, we call it a buglery.”

I’m joining in this year because 13 Ways to Eat a Fly is celebrating its fifth birthday! Before writing books for kids, I taught science and also worked as a newspaper reporter. One afternoon I was covering the opening of a nature preserve. People were standing because there were “small bees” perching on the sun-warmed metal chairs. Those “bees” were actually flower flies – awesome little pollinators! That’s when I realized that too many folks have no idea about the diversity of flies buzzing around them. 

Initially I wrote 13 Ways to Eat a Fly as a backyard field guide. Bo-oring! It took a few years (and many revisions) before I came to the idea of making it a backwards counting book. You know: starting with a bunch of flies that disappear one by one as each hungry critter (or plant) grabs a snack. I added a brain-eating fungus, because who can resist zombies! I got to wondering... 

... why did other folks chose the format they did?

Melissa Stewart

Melissa: Because butterflies are so beautiful and graceful, I thought free-verse poetry would be the best way to share information. Initially, I wrote a series of poems in two voices, but the first-person point of view wasn’t working. Over the years, I continued to revise, writing draft after draft and receiving rejection after rejection. The book’s design pays homage to this process by showing each poem atop a stack of papers. Finally, in 2023, I decided that perhaps the book needed an additional conceptual layer that tied into the art and design. So I sent the manuscript to my friend, illustrator, and past collaborator Sarah S. Brannen. I let her know what I was thinking and invited her to go on a hike to brainstorm. A few hours later, we had a vision for what the book could be—a nature journal bursting with art, poems, and informational notes.

Jenni: I wrote The Bug Bandits for my 10-year-old so middle grade was the perfect age group for him. He’s a reluctant reader but I’m pleased to say he couldn’t resist a heist book that is Night at the Museum meets Home Alone.

Laura Gehl

Laura: I love writing board books because they can serve as a child’s first introduction to a topic—in this case, really weird and amazing bugs!

Karen: Lyrical, rhyming picture books are my jam. It feels natural to write this way in the main text - a style which is brief and accessible to younger readers. Science concepts in the back matter are written in prose for those who wish to explore the topic in more depth.

Katherine: I wanted the story to be told in the voices of the insects themselves—a kind of song they sing to reveal their secrets. That called for a more lyrical approach.

Me: As a kid, I was fascinated by ants. They lived in sidewalk cracks and in our garden, often working together to carry bits of dead beetles to their homes. Plus they have queens! Being a fairy tale-reading second-grader, how could I resist? I wondered ...

... what was the gateway arthropod for other authors?

Katherine Hocker

Katherine: Caddisflies! I remember discovering them as a child—these tiny crawling underwater beasties that built themselves homes out of grains of sand or tiny twigs. We used to call them “stick bugs.” It was many years before I learned that they have a winged adult form.

Laura: I read about a poop-shooting caterpillar when I was in grad school, and one of my first-ever published pieces of writing was about that caterpillar. I’ve been hooked on bugs ever since!

Karen: I am obsessed with dragonflies! Not only are they beautiful, but they’re symbolic of joy, good omens, and transformation.

Melissa: I’ve been a lover of all creatures big and small since childhood. I was fortunate that my parents owned 10 acres of woods, and we had a national forest across the street from our house. My brother and I spent most of our time outdoors—immersed in the natural world. Some of my long-time favorite insects include walking sticks, lightning bugs, and of course, butterflies.

Jenni Walsh

Jenni: I’ve always loved butterflies. When we visited the insectarium the book is based on, my family and I loved walking through the butterfly pavilion. We also hatched them at home and had a release party. It inspired my main character, Liberty, to have a butterfly releasing business in The Bug Bandits!

Me: Today is Earth Day. What can we – and the kids we write for – do to help make our backyards and neighborhoods better places for bugs?

Jenni: There are certain native plants that encourage bug-life, such as butterflies. I encourage everyone to find out what plants/flowers are bug friendly for your area!

Karen Jameson

Karen: I include a Nesting Site Conservation section in the back matter of Who Nests Here? Here’s a few tips: 1) Pick up trash and keep waterways clean. 2) Leave rocks, shells, pine cones and other natural elements where they are, as they may be someone’s home. 3) Don’t poke sticks into nests or move them to another site.

Laura: This is pretty easy for me, because my husband and I don’t have the time or energy to keep our back yard neat or tidy! Having a messy yard with leaf litter, brush/wood piles, clover and dandelions, and sections of longer grass is great for bugs!

Katherine: Aquatic insects need water to survive. Many, such as caddisflies, stoneflies, and mayflies, need water that’s very clean and cold. We can help them thrive by protecting our ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers.

Melissa: Grow native plants is the most obvious answer. But Earth, our precious planet, is one big interconnected system. Anything we can do to lessen pollution and climate change, and to preserve natural areas is going to help every living thing—including us.

your host, Sue Heavenrich
looking for spiders

Me: To these great suggestions I’ll add that using natural mulches, such as dried leaves, grass, and straw creates the perfect habitat for spiders. Also, my lazy gardening provides other benefits. All those dried, hollow flower stems that I never remove turn out to be great homes for native bees. 

We could talk bugs all day long… but I’m out of coffee. Check out our author websites, drop by our blogs, and remember to head outside and watch some bugs!

Laura Gehl at https://lauragehl.com/

Sue Heavenrich at https://www.sueheavenrich.com/

Katherine Hocker at  https://katherinehocker.art/

Karen Jameson at https://karenljameson.com/

Melissa Stewart at   https://melissa-stewart.com/

Jenni Walsh at https://www.jennilwalsh.com/