The Secret Life of the Woolly Bear Caterpillar (Secret Life)

by Laurence Pringle (Author) Joan Paley (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Series: Secret Life
Kids often spot woolly bear caterpillars creeping across the ground in fall, but these furry-looking creatures seem to disappear as quickly as they pop up. Where do they come from in autumn, and where do they go? In fact, they live throughout North America all year long. In vivid storytelling style, Laurence Pringle uncovers the secret life of the woolly bear caterpillar, following one caterpillar as she feasts, tiny and hidden, in the tall summer grass; molts and grows; then sets off on the fall journey where she's most likely to be seen. Packed with surprising details (did you know that woolly bears can survive freezing temperatures by producing a natural antifreeze?), this book will appeal to every child who's been lucky enough to spy one of these beloved caterpillars--and to anyone who'd like to.
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School Library Journal

K-Gr 3--In this picture-book equivalent of watching a nature documentary, Bella, a woolly bear caterpillar eats, molts, and eats again in a months-long journey through forests, gardens, and lawns. Potential perils come in the form of a garter snake, a blue jay, and a passing car, though Bella gets through the dangers intact. Italicized insect terms are smoothly incorporated into the story, such as how the three pairs of her "true legs" attached to her thorax allow her to hold a leaf steady when she chews and help her climb. Colorful cut-paper drawings bring Bella and her world to life, emphasizing the texture of her fuzzy-looking black-and-orange body and gloriously displaying the wingspan of the tiger moth she becomes. Further information and a diagram of a woolly bear caterpillar are included in the back matter, all the better to satisfy insect-loving readers.--Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"The author of more than 100 children's books looks closely at a familiar creature. Naming but not otherwise anthropomorphizing this stealthy survivor, Pringle follows Bella the woollly bear through a jungle of grasses, clovers, and wild flowers . . . Paley's colorful cut-paper and mixed-media illustrations show off Bella and her neighbors nicely . . . Straightforward and informative." —Kirkus Reviews

"Pringle (Scorpions!, 2013) informatively narrates the life of a banded woolly caterpillar called Bella, so named for its species, the Isabella tiger moth. . . Each page presents plenty of material for discussion, and an afterword offers more information on banded woolly caterpillars and a glossary of terms used in the text . . ." —Booklist

"In this picture-book equivalent of watching a nature documentary, Bella, a woolly bear caterpillar eats, molts, and eats again in a months-long journey through forests, gardens, and lawns. . . Colorful cut-paper drawings bring Bella and her world to life, emphasizing the texture of her fuzzy-looking black-and-orange body and gloriously displaying the wingspan of the tiger moth she becomes. Further information and a diagram of a woolly bear caterpillar are included in the back matter, all the better to satisfy insect-loving readers." —School Library Journal
Laurence Pringle
Laurence Pringle is the recipient of three major awards for his body of writing--the Eva L. Gordon Award for Children's Science Literature, the Washington Post-Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He lives in West Nyack, New York.

Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu have illustrated many books, including An Angel Just Like Me, Snow in Jerusalem, Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree, and Jewels. They live in New York City.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781620910009
Lexile Measure
800
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Astra Young Readers
Publication date
April 01, 2014
Series
Secret Life
BISAC categories
JNF003120 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Animals | Insects, Spiders, etc.
JNF003250 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Animals | Butterflies, Moths & Caterpillars
JNF051050 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Biology
Library of Congress categories
Life cycles
Woolly bears (Lepidoptera)

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