Storytime About Insects

Toddler Read Alouds
Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Bob Barner
Buzz, Buzz, Baby! by Karen Katz (2014)
Caterpillar's Wish by Mary Murphy
Caterpillow Fight by Sam McBratney
Don't Worry Bear by Greg Foley - MY FAVORITE
How Many Bugs in a Box? by David Carter
Kitten's Big Adventure by Mie Araki
Ladybug on the Move by Richard Fowler
Ten Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth
Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert
What's the Sound, Wooly Bear? by Philemon Sturges
Who's Bugging You? by Charles Reasoner

Preschool Read Alouds
Aaaarrgghh! Spider! by Lydia Monks
Bear and Bee by Sergio Ruzzler
Bugs for Lunch by Margery Facklan
Ed and Fred Flea by Pamela Duncan Edwards
Flea's Sneeze by Lynn Downey
Fly by Karl Newsom Edwards (2015)
Gotcha by Gail Jorgenson
Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
Not So Itsy-Bitsy-Spider by Dawn Bentley
Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth
Roly Poly Spider by Jill Sardegna
Sam's Sandwich by David Pelham
Some Bugs by Angela DeTerlizzi (2014)
Soup for One by Ethan Long - bugs in your soup? Ewww....
Ten Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin, Jr.
Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen - A CROWD PLEASER!
Very Lazy Ladybug by Isobel Finn

School Age Read Alouds
Bee-Wigged by Cece Bell
Bug Dance by Stuart J. Murphy
Bugs! by Lynn Munsinger
Buzz by Eileen Spinelli
Gentleman Bug by Julian Hector
Inchworm and a Half by Elinor Pinczes
I Saw An Ant On the Railroad Track by Joshua Prince
La Cucaracha Martina by Daniel Moreton
Locust Pocus: A Book to Bug You by Douglas McKelvey
Perfect Percy by Bonnie Pryor
Sitting On the Farm by Bob King - A CROWD PLEASER
Spider and the Fly by Tony DiTerlizzi
Ugh! A Bug by Mary Bono
Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach  (2019)

Flannels, Songs and Story Extensions

Books That Translate Well Into Flannels
La Cucaracha Martina by Daniel Moreton
Ladybug Counting
Snappy Little Bugs by Claire Nielson
Very Lazy Ladybug by Isobel Finn

Books That Translate Well Into Puppet Stories
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly by Simms Taback
Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Songs to Share
Five Little Frogs on Raffi's Singable Songs for the Very Young
There's a Spider On The Floor on Raffi's Singable Songs for the Very Young

Ants Go Marching
(flannel script)
The ants go marching one by one, harrah, harrah,
The ants go marching one by one, harrah, harrah,
The ants go marching one by one,
The little one stops for a hamburger bun,
And they all go marching on…

(Repeat with:)
The ants go marching two by two.... piece of fruit...
The ants go marching three by three... slice of cheese...
The ants go marching four by four... ear of corn...
The ants go marching five by five... French fries...
The ants go marching six by six... carrot sticks...
The ants go marching seven by seven... slice of heaven... (chocolate cake)
The ants go marching eight by eight... a grape
The ants go marching nine by nine... melon rind...
The ants go marching ten by ten... a burger again...

Who Is Buzzing in My Yard?
(Tune: "London Bridge")
Who is buzzing in my yard,
In my yard, in my yard,
Who is buzzing in my yard?   It's a bee.
(repeat with: other insects fluttering, crawling, hopping, etc.)

Little Miss Muffet
Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider, and sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet away...

Spider, Spider, Come to Tea
(flannel or puppet script)
SPIDER: Bee, bee, come to tea.
BEE: No, no, Spider – not me!

SPIDER: Ladybug, ladybug, come to tea.
LADYBUG: No, no, Spider – not me!

SPIDER: Caterpillar, caterpillar, come to tea.
CATERPILLAR: No, no, Spider – not me!

SPIDER: Dragonfly, dragonfly, come to tea.
DRAGONFLY: No, no, Spider – not me!

SPIDER: Butterfly, butterfly, come to tea.
BUTTERFLY: No, no, Spider – not me!

SPIDER: Grasshopper, grasshoper, come to tea.
BUTTERFLY: No, no, Spider – not me!

BIRD: Spider, spider, come to tea.
SPIDER: No, no, Bird – not me!

Two Little Butterflies

Two little butterflies landed on my hand.
One named Sally; the other named Sam.
Fly away, Sally!  Fly away, Sam!
Come back, Sally!  Come back, Sam!