The Life and Times of the Ant

by Charles Micucci

Overview

Not mighty in size, but mighty in resourcefulness and industry, the ant has crawled the earth since prehistoric times. It has dwelt in rainforest tree trunks and acorns of oak trees, beneath logs, and under sidewalks. It has protected forests by capturing insects, cleared weeds away from acacia trees, and by growing gardens has released important nutrients into the soil. Seed lifters, dirt diggers, social beings, ants have the most advanced brain of all insects! So watch where you step, especially on a warm day: a small but mighty ant may be underfoot.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780618689491
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	04/17/2006
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	111,579
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.15(d)
Lexile:	NC950L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Charles Micucci’s other books with Houghton Mifflin include The Life and Times of the Honeybee and The Life and Times of the Peanut. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

	Masters of the Earth	4
	Friends in Low Places	6
	The Ant Family	8
	Inside an Anthill	10
	House Plants	12
	The Ant's Body	14
	A Life of Work	16
	Show Me the Way	18
	Grass Root Highways	20
	An Ant Calendar	22
	Kinds of Ants	24
	Recycling the Rain Forest	26
	A Dangerous World	28
	Tunneling Through Time	30

Editorial Reviews

Charles Micucci's latest nonfiction book, The Life and Times of the Ant, slices open an anthill for the reader, spilling out armies of ant facts. Micucci, the author and illustrator of several close-ups of natural life, including The Life and Times of the Honeybee, knows how to grab his audience. He links two of childhood's consuming interests, dinosaurs and insects, with an arresting fact: Ants were tunneling under dinosaurs 100 million years ago. Dinosaurs perished. Now ants tunnel under us. — Connie Fletcher

The New York Times

"From house plants to ant colonies, these creatures' life comes to the fore with cutaway views and detailed explanations of the ant community's inner workings," noted PW. Ages 5-8. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

It is very easy to underestimate something as small and as seemingly insignificant as an ant. And yet ants have been living on our planet for millions and millions of years. They outnumber many insects by seven million to one, and ounce for ounce, ants are one of the strongest animals on earth. They are also not unlike humans. They are social creatures, needing each other to be able to survive, and they have specialization within their society; there are ants that are specially suited for particular jobs. With great enthusiasm and well researched text, the author describes many aspects of the lives of ants—from the structure of an anthill to the form of the ant body, from the kinds of work ants do, to the different kinds of ant species that can be found around the world. Lively watercolor illustrations cover the double-page spreads, offering plenty to look at and a busy and colorful world to explore. Stylized ant characters add a humorous element to the text. The author is clearly fascinated by these remarkable creatures and he gives us many reasons to join him in his interest. 2003, Houghton Mifflin Co.,
— Marya Jansen-Gruber

Children's Literature

Gr 3-5-Micucci's cheerful account emphasizes the prolific insect's impressive history, industry, and sociability. Each busy spread introduces an aspect of the ant's life cycle and its work in tunneling and maintaining the colony. Brief text is accompanied by an informative array of captioned watercolor sketches. Cartoon figures of ants in human guise are liberally sprinkled among the more factual drawings. As in the author's other "life and times" volumes (apples, honeybees, peanuts), the deftly done layout has the appearance of the kind of homely miscellany often appealing to children while offering a well-organized overview of the subject. A further reading list of adult and children's books appears in small print on the verso of the title page where it will hardly be noticed. An absorbing compendium.-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

With a characteristic mix of briefly stated facts and lucid, not-always-completely-serious pictures, the author of The Life and Times of the Honeybee (1995) profiles an equally ancient, even more successful, social insect. Using diverse examples, from tiny specimens that colonize single acorns to ferocious-looking army ants that "eat every animal they find, from scorpions to pythons," Micucci looks at their common physical and behavioral characteristics, life cycles, diets, predators, and ecosystem niches. His above- and below-ground illustrations depict ants at various tasks, and when those tasks may seem inscrutable, he adds a more recognizable figure alongside, such as a worker ant holding a shovel, a soldier ant in armor, or a larva tender in a nurse's outfit. Closing with a three-sentence version of Aesop's famous fable, plus two other literary references to ants, this close-up, but wide-angled follow-up to Arthur Dorros's Ant Cities (1987) makes a readable, engaging alternative to the many photographic treatments of the subject. (Nonfiction. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews

The Life and Times of the Ant, slices open an anthill for the reader, spilling out armies of ant facts. Micucci peppers his book with intriguing bits, sure to wow other children on the playground.” The New York Times Book Review

“Micucci moves naturally among various methods of scientific explanation.” Horn Book

“Overall, the presentation is informative, stimulating, and attractive, with just enough humor to reel in the intended audience.” Kirkus Reviews

“Micucci’s cheerful account emphasizes the prolific insect’s impressive history, industry, and sociability. An absorbing compendium.” School Library Journal

“A readable, engaging alternative to the many photographic treatments of the subject.” Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher