The Dalai Lama was once asked how to teach children compassion in a world full of violence and intolerance. And he replied, "Teach them to like and respect insects." For if we can learn to care about something that is tiny, strange, and not always easy to relate to, then we can realize that insects, like everything in nature, share the same life that we do. We have also been tutored in this regard by haiku like this one by Issa:
don't hit the fly —
he prays with his hands
and with his feet
In this fascinating and unusual children's book for those ages 2 and up, the contemplative poetry of Helen Frost is wed with the astonishing photography of Rick Lieder to present the wonderful world of insects. Here an ant goes for a stroll encountering a honeybee, a singing cricket, a moth, a spider on a silken thread, and a praying mantis. "They share the world with you," writes the author and by the end of our brief journey, we want to give insects more respect and empathy than we have done in the past.
