A Butterfly's Life

April 1, 2012

Gr 2-3-With an unusual format but conventional content, these volumes are framed as animal-observation journals from children. Several clear, bright color photos enhance each spread. Beginning with calls, egg sightings, or other indirect signs of a mating season in progress ("Today I saw two red kangaroos having a fight!"), each "notebook" tracks a typical animal's course from birth and growth to maturity. Even for the spider and the monarch butterfly, death gets but a single mention and takes place offstage, if at all. Thought-exercise questions and study suggestions are scattered throughout the volumes, which all end with a relevant small-scale activity.

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2012
Grades 1-3 Part of the Animal Diaries: Life Cycles series, this book chronicles the mysterious and colorful sequence of a butterfly's maturation. Formatted as a series of late-summer diary entries written by an inquisitive young boy, the book describes events from two butterflies mating in his backyard through their fall migration south and eventual return the following summer. Photographs combine with kid-friendly maps and illustrations to display migration patterns and metamorphosis in a vibrant manner. The text, though written from the point of view of a child, is insightful and straightforward while still maintaining an age-appropriate reading level. Also included is a science lab that explains the process of growing butterfly-friendly plants like verbena and milkweed in window pots and transplanting them outdoors to provide food and nectar to growing insects. A list of science terms is explained through an illustrated glossary. This book explains a complicated process in a factual, understandable, and attractive style.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)