Ants are interesting little creatures. I know I’ve stepped on my fair share. And especially as of late, as these little bugs have been creeping all around our yard. So to become a little less of an Ant Bully, we decided to to find out more about ants for storytime. Here’s 2 great books about how to treat a tiny little ant, keeping your feet off it’s back.
We started with The Ant Bully by John Nickle. It’s all in the title and the book’s front cover! This fun book has also been made into a movie.

Then we read Hey, Little Ant by Phillip M. Hoose. The last page of this book stops with the child’s foot in the air and you get to decide what the boy did next. What would you choose to do?

After we read these books, we made the classic snack Ants on a Log. I can remember eating this snack as a child and imagining the ants marching along their log. All you need for this tasty treat is celery, peanut butter, and raisins.


I guess we decided to eat ants instead of step on them! But I do have a better appreciation for them and what amazing creatures they are. I think my kids and I won’t be as quick to step on their little ant hills anymore.






















{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
The only ants I like, with peanut butter! Those books look very clever, thanks for the suggestions.
Oh I love this! I just bought celery to do this little snack now I can put some books with it!
We love the book The Ant Bully! It is one of our favorites. I didn’t know it was a movie though.
What a neat treat to introduce kids to bugs. Along with the story books they’ll go far.
Thanks for the great ant resources! I love the “ants on a log” as a great tie in. We also had fun doing an “ant investigation” learning experience.
what a great lesson and activity to do with your child! i’ve never read “the ant bully”, but every year i read “hey little ant” and “night visitors” by ed young to my class… night visitors is has a lot of deep meaning behind it and is probably more appropriate for older children, but it’s one of my favorite stories that teaches respect for all creatures big and small… i like the peanut butter raisin idea… i’ll have to incorporate that into my lesson next time. thanks for sharing!
I LOVED and still LOVE ants on a log! Best snack ever!
love this blog!!! amazing…
I never liked raisins, since I was a kid. (Supposedly the trick is to introduce your kid to foods in their first 6 years, I suppose i was never offered raisins in that time but they look nasty anyway, all shriveled…) I’ve also never liked tomatoes (fresh tomato slices, tho I’ll eat ketchup, I’ll eat spaghetti no doubt [italian]) (and i’m 31) until tonight mom actually flipped some slices in flour and garlic and fried them in a pan with olive oil. I know tomatoes don’t have much of a taste but I never liked the acidity of it, frying them this way made them taste good. I also never used to eat mustard (of any kind) when i was a kid, long-standing fear of the ‘mustard-gas’ we learned about in WW1 or 2 or whatever; but now I love Gulden’s™ Spicy Mustard.
But i’ll never eat grapes. Maybe you could put skinned cashews or almonds or something to make variants, you could call them ‘flies on a stick’ instead of ants, or something. But I’ll expect you to send me dues monthly if you ever incorporate one of MY ideas, which I just patented, registered and trademarked, just now.