It's a Butterfly's Life - Hardcover

Passionate about animals and the outdoors, Irene Kelly s "It s a Hummingbird s Life" was recognized as a Nick Jr. magazine s Best Book for Kids, was an Animal Behavior Society Outstanding Children s Book Award finalist, a CCBC Choice, and a Bank Street College Children s Book of the Year; and appeared on the John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Reader.

PreSchool-Grade 4—This entertaining book allows children to comprehend the complexity of the natural world, and it will encourage their appreciation of butterflies. It is filled with details about behaviors and body parts, e.g., wings have "shimmering scales that overlap like shingles on a roof." Kelly playfully delineates how they eat: "You may not be able to taste a cupcake by standing on it, but a butterfly can!" She characterizes the migration of monarchs and explains the process of metamorphosis by including a dramatic comparison—a monarch caterpillar is 2700 times its original weight in two weeks. "If a newborn baby gained weight that fast, it would weigh eight tons. That's as big as two full-grown rhinos!" The text curves up and down, suggesting the fluttering movement of butterflies. Specific creatures are identified, although the delicate watercolor, gouache, and pen-and-ink artwork is somewhat muted and the colors are not quite as vibrant as one might expect. Nonetheless, this is a delightful book to share with children and would be a splendid resource for reports, even though there is no index.—Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA
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