What kind of ant is Mr. Ant?

Mr. Ant is a Texas Red Harvester ant. These large, reddish brown ants may look similar to the dangerous fire ant, but Harvester ants are rather docile as far as ants go. They are plentiful in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas where the illustrator, Brenda Shores, grew up. She recalls playing with the ants and anthills as a child. In fact, these are the type of ants most commonly found in ant farms.

What kind of tuttle—I mean TURTLE—is Bill?

Bill is a box turtle. Some might call him a tortoise or terrapin, but according to the Encyclopedia Brittanica the Emydidae are:

a family of hard-shelled turtles native to both the Old and New Worlds, primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. The emydid turtles comprise more than 25 genera and 85 living species—roughly one-half of all the genera and one-third of all the species of turtles now living. With the exception of a few terrestrial forms, such as the box turtles (Terrapene) of North and Central America, emydid turtles are aquatic reptiles with streamlined shells.

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