Step-by-step drawing lessons for over 80 insects and other creepy crawlies such as millipedes, ticks, and spiders are featured in this carefully constructed drawing book. All of the examples are done in pencil. A discussion of materials needed is included in the preface. Readers are invited to observe the drawings before starting and are given specific written instructions. Basic information such as the order and family of each creature and where it may be found is provided. This additional material makes this book more useful for both observations of insects and for report writing than other titles currently available.

The 20th entry in the series. With his usual step-by-step approach, Ames invites readers to copy insects, spiders, and mollusks. As with the other books, no information about these animals is presented, not even their actual sizes, which may lead readers to perceive nature incorrectly. Ames's successful technique for introducing mimicry, which he states ``is prerequisite to creativity,'' has been adapted and expanded by others such as Don Bolognese, who adds information, perspective, and color to complete his step-by-step approach in The Way to Draw and Color Dinosaurs (Random, 1991). Beginning artists who find comfort in Ames's easily replicated technique will be attracted to this title.