An Ant's Guide to Being an Ant

Illustrated cover of An Ant's Guide to Being an Ant. In the foreground there are three blue ants walk on two legs holding a pencil at head height. There are other ants and flowers in the background
By Zoe Meagher, illustrated by Julia Darling

This book is for ants.
If you are not an ant,
DO NOT READ this book.

Ants achieve incredible things by working together, looking after each other and—most importantly—following the 11 ant rules. If you haven’t memorised the ant rules yet, don’t worry! This book is here to help.

  • Find out the importance of having a secret signature smell (good for telling your friends about cool things you’ve found).
  • Learn how to take care of ant eggs (hint —although they’re shaped like footballs, you definitely should not kick them).
  • Discover the delicacies of ant cuisine (the joys of vomit soup are best shared with friends).

A laugh-out-loud look at the wonderful world of ants, guaranteed to have you welcoming ants to your next picnic instead of shooing them away.

An ant standing in a classroom that includes a diagram of ant anatomy is teaching a class on the values of being an ant. The teacher gesticulates at a white board that reads: Our values: Follow the rules, work together, survive, grow, care for each other. The page reads, Rule number 1. This book is for ants. If you are not an ant, DO NOT READ this book. Ants wearing hard hats digging. Ants carrying bits of mandarin fruit. Ants taking baby ant larvae to the park. The book reads: Rule number 2. If you are a worker ant (no wings, small, can't lay eggs) then you have to WORK. Your job is whatever your family (colony) needs: Digging new rooms in the nest. Going outside to get food. Looking after baby sisters. An ant with a clipboard smells a bug at a sniff test station while other ants inspect bugs as they line up to be tested. The clipboard reads: Department of Ants followed by checkboxes labelled signature smell, team spirit, 6 legs, 2 antennae and queen. The book reads: Smell the ants around you. Do they smell like our secret signature smell? Ants help themselves to a buffet. A chef ant regurgitates food into a bowl. One ant licks food off another's body. The book reads: Rule number 6. Share your food. Bring it back to the nest. Put some in your crop (the pocket in your throat, before your stomach) then spit it back up for others to eat. Or ooze it out through the tiny holes in your body so that your sisters can lick it off you later.
Details
Hardback, 32 pages
Price
RRP $19.99 Information on buying our books

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