From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Two attractive introductions to creatures likely to be found in backyards and empty lots. Beginning with the title questions, the simple, conversational texts go on to present various facets of the lives of the featured animals. As newly hatched butterflies, readers are reassured, "Your wings are crumpled. They look terrible. Don't worry." As spiders, they are warned, "If you catch a wasp in your web, don't try to eat it." Ultimately, readers are returned to human childhood and given a couple of pages of extra data about their fanciful incarnations. The softly colored, realistic illustrations depict caterpillars/butterflies and spiderlings/spiders going about their daily lives, keeping step with the text, and the focus comes back to a group of children at the close. Small carps-the butterflies have a pair of parents; the spiders only a mother. Neither species is identified, and some spiders do not spin elaborate webs. These titles are somewhat reminiscent of Mick Manning's equally engaging A Ruined House (1996) and Karen Wallace's Red Fox (1994, both Candlewick). Readers will find Butterfly and Spider comforting and helpful, with touches of humor scattered throughout.
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reviewed with Judy Allen's Are You a Butterfly?
Ages 4-6. From the Backyard Books series, which debuted this spring with Are You a Ladybug? and Are You a Snail? , come two more volumes that lead children to imagine themselves as small, familiar animals. Butterfly begins with the egg, followed by the caterpillar, the chrysalis, and the emergence of the butterfly. The text, informal and engaging, talks the child/animal through its metamorphoses: "Your wings are crumpled. They look terrible. Don't worry. Hang upside down from your chrysalis." In Spider , the narration addresses a newly hatched spider, instructing it in the art of spinning thread and creating a proper web, and warning it to watch out for birds and wasps. Humphries' artwork, colorful and precise, offers large-scale pictures just right for sharing with preschool and primary-grade classes. Two fine additions to an informative and enjoyable nature series for young children. Carolyn Phelan
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--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
