Who Ate all the Bugs?

Who Ate all the Bugs? The true and gory story of the food chain. This is the start of a trilogy of picture books by Matty Long exploring ecosystems and the creatures within them.

It's a beautiful morning in the garden, Snail and Worm are out for a stroll, when disaster strikes: someone or something is eating all the bugs! Terrifying! Outraged by the horrifying insect-icide, Snail decides to investigate. Who or what is treating bugs like a buffet?

There are lots of suspects, from birds to a snake, to spiders, but none of them are completely to blame. So, who ate all the bugs? Snail learns lots but never does get justice, instead accepting that you can't fight the food chain, which is just as well, given his location at the time. . . 

Through this delightful and very funny cartoon-style guide to food chains, readers will learn and laugh in equal amounts. It is a brilliant introduction to the concept, and gives young readers and listeners some simple facts about a range of animals and their eating habits, and the natural cycle of life.

The clear, colourful illustrations will ensure that the young reader's interest is retained the whole way through the book, along with the clever character development and the relationship between worm and snail. The beautiful layout includes some busier spreads where there's lots to see and point out, as well as little animals with amusing speech bubbles.

In addition to the information found in the text, there is an additional page of 'bugsplaining' at the back which provides facts and a bug hunt activity page. For any life cycle topic, conversation about nature or food, this is the perfect starting point. Four to five year olds will enjoy having this read to them, and six to seven year olds will enjoy reading it to themselves.

This is a must have for any school library and EYFS classroom. It is sure to be well used as pupils look for answers after exploring nature, attending forest school sessions or learning in the outside area.

Picture book / Reviewed by Amanda Shipton, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 3+

Well this is a book NOT for the faint-hearted! Subtitled 'the TRUE and GORY story of the food chain', it absolutely lives up to the hype. Who Ate all the Bugs? tells the story of a group of garden bugs finding out about the food chain, by following the trail of corpses. Eventually Snail works out who's above them in the chain...

This cartoony book is fun and lively and filled with short, accessible facts that will enchant any budding scientist. There is also a helpful glossary and spotters guide at the end, which should keep children busy in the garden for a couple of hours on a sunny day. The perfect addition to any school library and indispensable for Key Stage One classes who are looking at food chains for the first time.

Picture book / Reviewed by Wendy Kelly, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+

What a great book to support learning about food chains in Science! Snail is on a mission to discover who is eating all the bugs... and discovers it is the food chain and what makes nature survive.

Who Ate All the Bugs? is a clever, funny book with SO many insects/bugs interacting with snail through speech and thought bubbles which explain what is happening and are very funny! We will definitely be using this to support our learning about food chains and I know children will love this creative exploration of this tricky subject. A great book with vivid illustrations!

Picture book / Reviewed by Maria, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+