FLASH: The Life Story of a Firefly

Although the technique of following one animal or bird through a typical life cycle is a standard approach to nature information for the youngest readers, it is a difficult one to sustain in describing an insect as fragile as the firefly. The authors (The Little Red Newt) manage to make Flash interesting as they follow him from the egg, through the long low worm stage, his ten days as a pupa, until the time he reaches his final form. His existence and his future is as hazardous as it is haphazard. Those flashing lights are his hopeful beacon to a mate. This is fine science supplementary reading for the youngest members of this age group, fact filled with all the details of feeding and dodging dangers, even including a brush with people. The illustrations are large, clear and carefully colored, showing Flash at all stages of his development as well as some of his relatives.