“Insects” by Martha E. H. Rustad, was a very engaging and interesting book to read. Through the author’s use of word choice, descriptive language, references, layout, and illustrations, the reader is able to easily comprehend the main messages, fulfilling the purpose of this book. The purpose of this book is to introduce the reader to insects and teach them about the different kinds of insects, their purposes, and their functions as a species.
While keeping the language simple and easy to follow, the author was still able to incorporate important science terms needed to accurately convey the information about insects. The author also used a large amount of descriptive language to introduce the reader to the different insects. This helps the reader to really understand the different components of insects and the information about them. Furthermore, this allows the reader to be actively engaged in the book because the text flows smoothing and at a nice pace. In addition, the layout and illustrations helped fulfill this books purpose. For example, on each page, the text has a different placement and is often times written inside a bubble shaped like an insect. This made the book visually appealing and interesting to read. The book’s layout included realistic pictures and pictures with labels, which helped the reader to better understand the concepts. The real pictures of insects also provided the reader with a connection between the text and the real world. Thus, giving the reader an opportunity to comprehend the information, fulfilling the book’s purpose.
Along with these text elements, the author also included references to help fulfill the book’s purpose. One reference included in the book was a table of contents and index. The table of contents gives the reader a better opportunity to understand and follow along with the sequence of the book. Also, this allows the reader to find the specific information that he or she is interested in. The index gives the reader the opportunity to find specific information they want to read about that may not specifically be stated in the glossary, providing the reader with a greater opportunity to successfully comprehend the information presented in the book. This book also included a glossary, which has definitions of the scientific words used that the reader may need in order to better understand the content. Furthermore, this book also included “read more” and “internet sites” pages at the end of the book. This provides the reader with ways that he or she can learn more about the book’s information and use the knowledge they’ve learned on the Internet and in other books. This gives the reader an opportunity to use the knowledge he or she has learned, thus giving the reader a better chance of understanding the content on a deeper level and remembering what he or she has read.
Through the use of all these different text elements, the author is able to create a visually appealing book that is engaging, interesting, and fun to read and fulfills the book’s purpose successfully. As a result of the author’s use of word choice, descriptive language, references, layout, and illustrations the purpose of this book, which is to introduce and the reader about different insects, their purposes, and their functions as a species, is successfully fulfilled. ( )

I liked the book “Insects” by Martha E. H. Rustad because I felt that it was filled with helpful information and pictures that would be interesting to children. I would choose to have this book in my classroom because it has descriptive language that explains both fun facts about insects, as well as a descriptive explanation of the variations in different types of insects. The writing is engaging and the placement of writing on the pages is very visually appealing. The book is written in third person and the book encourages readers to think about their own interactions with insects and the importance of insects in our environment. The pictures in this book are realistic and include labeled parts of insects on each page. The book includes a glossary at the end, as well as information for further reading and discovering. The main purpose of this book is to inform children about different types of insects, their purposes, and their functions as a species.