cover image The Life and Times of the Ant

The Life and Times of the Ant

Charles Micucci. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), $16 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-618-00559-8

From house plants to ant colonies, The Life and Times of the Ant by Charles Micucci comes to the fore with cutaway views and detailed explanations of the ant community's inner workings. A spread of an anthill shows how it ""absorbs the sun's rays and transfers the heat down into the nest,"" while a cutaway view shows the insects' ""house,"" complete with ""day nursery"" and ""night nursery"" as well as a ""room"" for food storage. Other watercolor illustrations demonstrate how ""ants dig tunnels under streams and other obstacles."" No creatures of leisure, the ants lead busy lives indeed.