The Bug Collector

ABOUT THE BOOK
FAMILY ACTIVITIES

Text and Illustrations: Alex Griffiths | translation: Muna Abu Baker

After George (Nabil in the Arabic version) visits the Museum of Wildlife with Grandad, all he can think about is bugs! The very next day he goes out hunting, but he soon finds there are no more insects left in the garden, and the ones he has captured in jars don’t look very happy… George is about to learn exactly why bugs are so important. A brilliant, vibrant debut from Alex G. Griffiths, featuring a wonderful grandfather-grandson relationship.

Family Activities

George (Nabil in the Arabic version) gets excited when he sees the preserved insects in the Wildlife Museum, and dreams about them all night. So, he goes out in the morning to hunt them and lock them up in bottles and jars. However, there is a strange calmness that prevails around his house, which ...

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Dear Parents,

Our gardens and homes are full of various insects, and we interact with them in different ways. Some of us fear them, then flee or kill them, and some of us interact with them as natural beings who share this world with us, and live with them in peace. The book draws the child’s attention to the presence of these organisms in their close environment, inviting the child to examine them, and to identify their role in maintaining the cycle of life.

Family Activities

Let’s look together at the illustrations on pages 6 + 7. What other creatures can we find in the Wildlife Museum? If you’ve ever visited one and took pictures there, now is the time to look at these pictures!
What insects did George collect in bottles and jars? Can we distinguish some of them? We can talk about what would happen to insects if we locked them in closed bottles.
We may want to accompany our child on a tour in the garden or outside the house, looking for insects in the grass, on the trees, and under the rocks in a safe way that does not expose us to danger. It is interesting for our child to explore the insects through a magnifying glass, photograph them, and search for their names and characteristics.
Bees, ladybirds, and ants are beneficial to nature, and therefore to humans. Do we know other beneficial insects? which insects are harmful?
George enjoys accompanying his grandfather every week on a new adventure. What “adventures” does our child like to do with their grandfather/grandmother, or any other family member?
Together, we can look at the drawing of the sanctuary that George and his grandfather built. How does it attract beneficial insects? We may want to design our own reservation and draw it on a piece of paper.
Enjoy your reading!