This very interesting non fiction book is all about insects that are dangerous or annoying to humans in different ways. Each bug gets its own page, allowing readers to take a deep dive into these very interesting creatures. There's plenty here to give anyone the shivers!

Kids loved this book, my boys especially! I loved that we were able to use it for a science project!

My daughter loved this book. The content was far above her reading level to be honest, but as a child who consistently asks "what's this?" and "why?" she enjoyed the challenge and the information. The random facts she came up with to read off to me here and there were awesome.

Much as I enjoyed this book and found it fascinating there were a couple of things that made me hesitate in recommending it unequivocally. It's very wordy - or rather the balance between text and illustration is bent towards text. While the illustrations are beautiful, they're sparse, and a few more detailed illustrations to make a point, plus some maps of the distribution would add to the book immensely. while a monochromatic aesthetic is beautiful it may not appeal to the intended audience.

Wicked Bugs

Besides wicked, other words that come to mind describing this book are gross, candid, entrancing, vile – I could go on. For those who like a bit of horror in their lives, for those fed up with fluff, for those who want the real scoop on what tiny varmints do, this is the book. Wicked Bugs: The Meanest, Deadliest, Grossest Bugs on Earth by Amy Stewart is a young readers adaptation of her bestselling book for adult readers.

Each entry has pictures, entomology, habitat, size, distribution, and bug relatives, making it a good resource for looking at the science of these beasties. Other information ranges from serious to just for fun: a glossary, a list of phobias by bug title, a range of pain created by entomologist Justin Schmidt who did personal research with more than 150 insect stings. In addition, a cautionary tale winds through the book on the dangers of importing nonnative species.

Some bugs are weird as well as wicked. Monkeys in Venezuela search for millipedes whose secretions they rub into their fur to keep the mosquitoes away. There are zombie bugs that inhabit other bugs and force them to do harm. Others have strange life cycles dependent on striking it right with the life cycles of the animals they inhabit. Some provide solutions to big problems like the phorid fly that injects its eggs into the fire ant with the larvae eating the ant’s brains until its head falls off.

A nod to literature is the quote from Poe’s story of “The Tell-Tale Heart” with “a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton” as he describes the death-watch beetle – a bug the author describes as an omen of death. In a different relationship with death, there are insects used in forensics to pinpoint death’s time and place.
The book is entertaining, intriguing, and informative. It is also as engrossing as a scab that calls you back to pick a little more – just the thing for a reluctant reader.

A survey of the bugs that humans are well-advised to respect and well-founded when they fear. Each critter is introduced with its common and scientific names. An illustration is provided, and then it’s explained where you can find these creatures and how they are nasty to humans. (And for those scientists out there, the term bug is clarified by the author as not just insects but in its broader common usage as any arthropod or worm for this book.)

This book is one of those that you read between the fingers spread across your eyes. It is not for the faint of heart or those prone to worry about bug bites or catching weird diseases. It is most definitely for the profoundly curious, those who like their books with a little dangerous thrill or slight gross factor inside, and anyone who thinks they might want to become an entomologist or epidemiologist when they grow up. This has been adapted from the adult version of this book. The language used is very approachable, a glossary is provided for the harder terms, and it is attractively illustrated throughout (as long as you like bugs). Definitely adding this to our library. I can name several friends and family and students I would never hand this to because they’d be tempted to burn it for the pictures of spiders and all the descriptions of horrid things bugs can do to you. But for my fellow nerds, snatch it up and savor the fascination with just the right touch of ewww factor. I know of several middle schoolers who will gobble this up like candy.

Notes on content: There are some descriptions of nasty poisons, diseases, and infestations, but the author kept the descriptions appropriate for the target age level. Deaths from all of these are mentioned, but again, not overly gory in descriptions. Of course, if you ask an arachnophobe or germaphobe, this book is the stuff of nightmares and isn’t fit for human eyes. Know your reader.

***This book was reviewed for Algonquin Young Readers via Netgalley


Stewart's Wicked Bugs: Young Reader’s Edition is a condensed version of Wicked Bugs: The Louse that Conquered Napoleon's Army and Other Diabolical Insects geared towards middle-aged readers. Replete with photos and beautiful pencil sketches, this book is divided into six sections, each ending in a specialised essay.

'Deadly Creatures’ looks at dangerous bugs that don't seem to fit one of the other chapters, including mosquitos and tsetse flies. I learned a great deal of fascinating information about plague under the Oriental Rat Flea. The ending essay looked at the more dangerous scorpion species.

'Everyday Dangers’ focused on beasties such as lice and ticks. The end essay focused on parasitic worms. Eww. That's all I have to say.

'Unwelcome Invaders’ examines invasive species, either to regions or dwellings. I never would have thought of earthworms as being undesirable. Who knew. The essay looked at invaders of a different sort- bugs that create zombies out of other bugs. Creepy.

'Destructive Pests’ showcases bugs that can cause widespread destruction, such as species that undermine houses and other buildings, like termites and deathwatch beetles. The end essay focused on forensic entomology and insects that partake of a more unusual destructive streak. Being a person long interested in forensics, and having once studied forensic anthropology, a discipline closely linked, this was my favourite essay.

‘Serious Pains’ are just that. These critters, including the Asian Giant Hornet, or the Giant Centipede, deliver painful bites or stings. Or machine-gun rapid salvos of acid. Because why not? The section wraps up by looking at dangerous ant species, and at the Schmidt Guide to sting and bite intensity. I loved the sarcasm dripping from the descriptions.

'Terrible Threats’ are beasties with a fearsome reputation like the black widow, or those that cause terrifying infestations leading to things like blindness. Um, no thanks. The essay is just as bad, covering a variety of maggots that prefer to dwell under human skin. Quite a far cry from the maggots used in maggot therapy, that only eat dead flesh so they are used to gangrenous wounds and necrotic flesh. I don't want either on or in me though, if we are being honest.

📚📚📚📚 Recommended. Packed full of neat facts and information, this book is sure to please any bug-lovers in the family

Our family has enjoyed Amy Stewart's books for years and her audiobooks have been a favorite for long car trips. This juvenile edition is exceptional and I hope her entire series will be transformed for the younger audience in this way!