Little Black Ant on Park Street

February 8, 2010 by Lori Calabrese · View Comments 


Have you ever wondered about that long parade of ants heading to a chocolate chip cookie on a picnic blanket?

Little Black Ant on Park Street (Smithsonian’s Backyard Collection)is just what you need!  This is part of Smithsonian’s Backyard series, beautifully illustrated nature picture books that  feature familiar animals found in backyards across America. What’s more familiar than the little black ant, native to North America and abundant across the area?

Little Black Ant on Park Street welcomes you into a busy ant city beneath the ground with many rooms connected by little tunnels–a lot like your ant farm. The text reads as a beautifully written story that weaves in plenty of facts about the little black ant. Young readers will learn how there are different rooms underground, how ants wiggle their antennae to smell food, how squirting little drops of liquid provide a scent trail, and how the sharp jaws of an ant can slice off bits of caterpillar twenty times heavier than they are.

The illustrations by Kathleen Rietz are amazing, making you feel as though you’re a black ant nestled on a rosebush alongside tiny green insects called aphids.

Smithsonian’s Backyard is a world of wonder for children and Little Black Ant on Park Street will continue to excite children about a creature that plays such an important role in their very own backyard.

To learn more about Janet Halfmann, please visit www.janethalfmann.com and to see some of the beautiful illustrations in Little Black Ant on Park Street, please visit the blog of Kathleen Rietz.

Additional Information:
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Soundprint (December 1, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1607270021
ISBN-13: 978-1607270027
Source of review copy: Publisher

nonfiction.monday
Nonfiction Monday takes place at various wonderful blogs throughout the Kidlitosphere! Today, you can check out the Roundup at Great Kids Books. If you’d like to see the schedule for Nonfiction Monday, please visit Anastasia Suen’s Picture Book of the Day.

Disclosure: Some of the books I review are received from publishers , PR agencies, and authors, but it does not sway my opinion of the book. I maintain affiliate accounts with Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you purchase a book through one of my links, I will receive a small commission (at no cost to you). You can support this site by originating your purchase via these links and I appreciate your support of Lori Calabrese Writes!