"Face Bug" by J. Patrick Lewis, Photographs by Frederic B. Siskind, Illustrations by Kelly Murphy (LS 5663)

Lewis, J. Patrick. 2013. Face Bug. Photographs by Frederic B. Siskind. Illustrated by Kelly Murphy.  Honsdale, PA: WordSong.

ISBN: 978-1-59078-925-4

Photo of cover
by: L. Propes

Face Bug by J. Patrick Lewis, with illustrations by Kelly Murphy and photographs by Frederic B. Siskind imagines the book as a trip through a museum exhibit about bugs.  It's a conceit that works, due in large part to Murphy's whimsical ink and graphite drawings that serve as the binding element to the book.  In a series of fifteen poems, Lewis introduces us to several insects that look far more fearsome than they really are.  Some are annoying or bite, but overall, they're relatively harmless.  But in all honesty, some of these insects are...  Well, let's just say I wouldn't want to hang their framed head shots in my living room.  Siskind provides bright color photographs of each insect.  When I saw the cover of the book with the image of a seemingly happy praying mantis, my first thought was "I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeVille!"

The book contains a table of contents, which is presented as a list of bugs on exhibit.  Each bug also has a small thumbnail of its portrait next to its name.  The title of each poem is the name of the insect featured in the poem.  There is also a subtitle which is the binomial, or Latin, name.  The subtitles don't appear on the table of contents, but they do appear on the actual poem.  The end of the book has a section that has more information about the bugs.  It's presented in a sort of "getting to know me" format, where the reader learns more about where the insect lives, how they grow, what they eat, and what eats them.  If that seems a little graphic for a poetry book, it maintains the theme Lewis had through the book.  He doesn't sugar-coat the life and habits of the bugs in the book.

Photo of Kelly Murphy
drawing by: L. Propes

The museum exhibit begins on the front flap of the dust jacket, with a banner that welcomes you to the Face Bug Museum and gives you a preview of what you can expect once inside the doors of the museum.  The table of contents page continues the museum theme with a grand opening sign.  Murphy's drawings encapsulate all the trappings of a natural history museum: the atrium with lots of windows, a gift shop, fountain, and café; interactive activities with the exhibits; a hatchery; film; and live show.  Each poem represents a different part of the exhibit and museum, which helps give the book a sense of moving from one exhibit to another.  Murphy gives the insects moving through the museum little speech balloons that have a comment or two about that particular exhibit, which also contributes to the feeling of moving through a museum.  Murphy's drawings are one of the best things about the book.  They surround the poem and the photograph in such a way that it enhances the feel of a segment of the exhibit about that particular bug.  The visit to the museum ends, as it were, with a two page spread that shows the bug families enjoying the museum and its offerings, with a large banner that says "thank you" over the doors.  

The poems are typically Lewis -- bouncy and rhythmic, with lots of rhyme.  "Grand Opening: The Bug Face Museum" is a really good example of this.  It's composed of rhymed couplets, with a little alliteration thrown in.  It also sounds like the ringmaster of a circus, announcing the opening of the Bug Face Museum:

Climb through windows, walls, or basement, Insects, Spiders, guests.  It's free!
Our Smithsonian -- from Dragon-, Horse-, and Butterfly to Bee --
Is a hoppin', bug-eye poppin' photo show.  The place is packed!
We've installed designer lighting for the Moths it will attract. 

............................................................................................................................... 

No antennae on the photos, pests.  Just come and face your fear.
Drop whomever you are eating. Our Grand Opening is here! (Lewis 2013, 4)

At times, Lewis structures the poetry to resemble the activities of the subject of the poem.  In "Easter Carpenter Bee," he indents the lines of each stanza to resemble a bee burrowing into wood:

Who has made a hole in your house,
          A hole in your house?
                     That's me!
It's what I learned to do in school.
             You see, I'm a carpenter bee. (Lewis 2013, 8)

It's a method he also uses in "Pearl Crescent Butterfly" to illustrate the movement of a butterfly flitting from flower to flower to sip their nectar.

Sipping on a black-eyed Susan --
Any
     flower
                   nectars
                               ooze
                                         in
........................................................ 

If it's summer, here they come,
Females
     smaller
                   than
                                 a 

                                       thumb... (Lewis 2013, 12) 

Lewis' rhyme schemes are generally rhyming couplets or he rhymes every other line, which works most of the time, as in "Green Darner Dragonfly:"

Helicopter Dragonflyer
Stopping, starting rapid-fire.
He's the Emperor of the Pond,
Skimming lily pad and frond.
Day is sunny, but he's shady,
Spots a Darner Dragon Lady. (Lewis 2013, 22) 

There are other times when Lewis' rhymes don't quite work as well.  He has to manipulate the structure of the poem in order to make the rhyme fit, but it causes a hiccup between the seeing the words and trying to read them out loud.  In "Hickory Horned Devil," Lewis shifts a word to the next line in order to make his rhyme scheme work:

Look! A mini porcupine,
Country-colored coral reef
On an overhanging leaf,
Mother Nature's Frankenstein 

Nonchalantly eats his fill.
What if you were just a small
Caterpillar, one inch tall,
Who met this Devil dressed to kill? (Lewis 2013, 6)

If read aloud, it's fine, but the structure almost gets in the way of being able to read it the way it should be.  The space between the first and second stanza, quoted above, signals to the reader that they should pause, which is awkward.  Also, placing "caterpillar" on the line after the qualifying adjective of "small" also can signal an awkward line reading.  In "Nursery Web Spider," Lewis switches from rhyming couplets to an ABBA/CDDC structure for two stanzas, then back to the couplets.  It throws off the the rhythm of the rest of the poem, especially when reading aloud.

When the poem calls for it, Lewis is able to perfectly describe the subject.  In "Dogday Harvestfly Cicada," Lewis doesn't shy away from talking about how ugly this particular bug is.  (Yeah, it's that ugly...)  Describing the American Horse Fly as a Clydesdale (think the Budweiser horses) is a perfect way to succinctly describe just how big this insect is in relation to the others.  "Goldenrod Stowaway Moth" talks about how the bug uses its coloring to hide from swallows among goldenrod flowers.  Neat, huh?  And it's pretty golden hue gleams against the greenery.  After Lewis finishes talking about how lovely the bug is, he talks about how prickly it is: "But there are, oh, one hundred twenty / Things I would not dare do, / And one is touch a bristle on / That paintbrush of a hairdo!" (Lewis 2013, 17).  Just calling the bug's hairdo a paintbrush, it brings to mind the soft, yet bristly sensation you feel when you tap the ends of the bristles of a paintbrush.

Lewis uses a lot of personification in his poems, giving the bugs a personality or calling them by a name.  He allows the bugs to narrate their own poems, as in "Bush Katydid," where the Katydid is busily talking about his different names and how he appears to different things until he runs into a windshield with an almighty "splat" (Lewis 2013, 24).

The poems are fun to read, but in all honesty, they didn't really have a lasting impact on me.  Others might feel differently.  The poems are cute, and they're a great way to introduce insects, especially with younger students.  Lewis' poetry is always fun to read and he does a good job of describing the bugs and their habits in the poetry.  Most of the poems are quite fun to read, aside from a few where the rhyme scheme or rhythm gets a little awkward.  The inclusion of the bugs' Latin names is also a really great way to introduce the concept of binomial names to older students, and science teachers can use it as part of a lesson on biological classification.  The structure of the book as a museum exhibit gives it a natural progression from one bug to another, which would appeal to readers of all ages.  The photographs may not appeal to those of us who are on the squeamish side of the spectrum or feel that the only good bugs are the ones who stay on their side of the kitchen window.  Kids (and grownups) who love bugs and insects will adore the close up photographs of the bugs that are so gloriously detailed that you can see the expressions (as it were) on their tiny faces.  This would be a good addition to a school or classroom library or a children's collection of a public library.

*********************************************************************************

Spotlight on...

"Saddleback Caterpillar"

Sibine stimulea 

Though kids love him in Room 102,
There's a horrible hullabaloo
           When the substitute teacher
           Says, "Children, that creature
Belongs in a non-petting zoo. 

"He's handsome, he's graceful and cute,
But a bug in a mo' hair suit
            Can tenderly stroke you
            Or suddenly poke you --
A saddleback rash is a beaut!" (Lewis 2013, 28).

*********************************************************************************

After sharing this poem with a science class (reading and displaying the page through a document camera), students will be encouraged to create a museum exhibit using poetry, photographs, drawings, or other means to communicate the information they find about a particular animal or insect of their choice.  Students will need to include the Latin name as part of the exhibit, just like Lewis' poetry.  After the exhibit is complete, other classes will be encouraged to visit and perform a gallery walk, leaving comments on sticky notes provided for the purpose.

The class will work together to create the exhibit as a whole, but the students will work on their own or in small groups to create their portion of the exhibit.

*********************************************************************************
Works Cited

Lewis, J. Patrick. 2013. Face Bug. Photographs by Frederic B. Siskind. Illustrations by Kelly Murphy.  Honsdale, PA: WordSong.