“Insects, spiders, and other related arthropods account for almost 75 percent of all known animal life. This set presents readers in grades four through eight with information about these creatures as well as general topics such as insect evolution, migration, and insecticide.

Nearly 200 entries are arranged alphabetically and range in length from one to six pages. Each entry is color coded into one of four categories: insects (Ant, Bedbug, Termite); spiders (Black Widow, House Spider, Tarantula); other arthropods (Centipede, Millipede, Scorpion); and overview (Arachnology, Communication, Metamorphosis). Many articles include a 'Key Facts' box with basic details concerning habitat, breeding, and so on as well as a distribution map that indicates where the insect or spider lives in the world. Many longer articles also have sidebars that provide more detailed information about one particular aspect of the topic. Entries are further enhanced by diagrams, illustrations, and vivid color photographs. All entries include a ‘See Also’ box of headings to refer to within the set for more information.

Volume 1 contains a reader's guide and table of contents to the entire set. Each volume has its own table of contents as well as a glossary of terms mentioned in the text and an index. The final volume offers a comprehensive glossary and index for the set as well as several subject indexes, including Insects, Spiders, Behavior, and Habitat. Also included in the final volume are an arthropod tree, a key to arthropod identification, and facts about arthropod diversity. In addition, listings of Internet sites, books, organizations, and museums to contact for further research are provided.

This comprehensive encyclopedia is easily accessible and provides a nice introduction to insects and spiders. An excellent purchase for school and public libraries.”

“The first 10 volumes in this set (volume 11 is the index volume) contain approximately 200 alphabetically arranged articles about insects and spiders-from Africanized Bee to Zorapteran. While most articles are about individual insects or spiders, there are some ‘overview’ articles that discuss broad categories or topics such as arthropod, biological control, coloration, endangered species, insect life cycle, or swarming. Each article is profusely illustrated with captioned color photographs and artwork. Most also have a map that shows where the insect or spider lives in the world.

Every article in the set can be grouped into one of four thematic categories: Insects, Spiders, Other Arthropods, and Overview. These categories are color-coded. You can see at a glance which category an article belongs to by looking at the color of the heading that runs along the top of every page. Articles are divided into smaller sections, which are introduced by bold headings. There is a ‘Key Facts’ section with each article that provides basic pieces of information, and many articles have boxed insets that focus on special subjects in greater detail. Every article contains a see also section that refers the reader to related articles elsewhere in the set. Each volume includes a contents page, a glossary where important terms are identified and defined, and an index for that volume. Volume 1 provides a ‘Set Contents’ overview and a ‘Contents by Category.’ Volume 11 includes the comprehensive index for the entire set as well as several smaller indexes broken down into subjects.

This set is easy to read and has colorful, authoritative, accessible, and timely information (even West Nile Virus is included). All of these features make this a useful reference for students from grades 7-12 who are doing reports, the layperson who needs information on insects or spiders, or the casual browser who simply likes insects and spiders and wants to read more about them.”