The Beautiful Butterfly: A Folktale from Spain [Hardcover]

Judy Sierra (Adapter), Victoria Chess (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

A beautiful butterfly is courted by many suitors. She finally finds a husband who has a singing voice soft and sweet enough to please her, but no sooner does the honeymoon begin than he is swallowed by a giant fish! All of nature joins her in mourning, setting off a comical chain of events that results in a second chance for the beautiful butterfly and her devoted husband. Enchantingly original depictions of the beautiful butterfly and her friends and an inventive happy ending reveal the sweetness and humor of this enduring Spanish folktale. FOLKLORE NOTE.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The team behind Good Night, Dinosaurs here grants a happy ending to the tale of a heroine whose search for a mate traditionally ends with his death. In Sierra's comical version, a beguiling butterfly tests her suitors by asking them to sing. She listens patiently as the cricket "clicks," the frog "croo-ahs," and with a determined flick of her Spanish fan, she chooses the song of a gray mouse. But while the newlywed fellow fetches some pond water, a fish leaps up and swallows him. Sierra uses a repeated "The House That Jack Built" refrain to convey the ripple effect of the butterfly's sorrow ("The dove calls coo coo, and the tree drops its leaves," etc.) until the king enters and announces, "To show how sad I am, I will take off my robe and run around in my royal underwear." The fish laughs so hard at the king in his skivvies that he spits up the whiskered groom. Chess demonstrates the happily-ever-after conclusion with a family portrait of three "buttermice" (with mouse bodies, antennae and wings to match their mom's) playing jump rope and swinging from the branches of their hollow tree home. Sierra fills her cleverly and economically told tale with repeated phrases and sounds that trip off the tongue, while Chess's droll watercolors provide just the right amount of tartness for the sweet text. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-In this melding of two classic Spanish folktales, an alluring butterfly turns down a number of suitors before choosing a gentle mouse because his soft, sweet song is absolutely perfect for singing babies to sleep. Just when it looks as though they will live happily ever after, Mouse falls in a pond and is swallowed by a fish. The grief-stricken butterfly cries up a storm, which sets in motion a chain of events resulting in her beloved's regurgitation and a happy ending. The story makes good use of repetition to build to the climax, and the plot is intriguing. Chess's signature illustrations are full of bright color, pizzazz, and humor. Her insects' and animals' faces run through a gamut of expressions, from pleased to appalled, and there are many details to look at and enjoy. This is a good addition to the canon of such animal-wooing stories as John Langstaff's retelling of Frog Went A'-Courtin' (Harcourt, 1955) and classic animal death tales like William Stobbs's Who Killed Cock Robin? (Oxford, 1990).
Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books (March 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395900158
• ISBN-13: 978-0395900154
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,090,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in a very creative, book-loving family. My father was a photographer, and my mother was a librarian. They read to me constantly, especially poetry. When I was seven, they built me a puppet theater and I gave my first performance, "The Three Wishes." In college I studied literature, and afterwards I became a children's librarian. A few years later, I set out on my own as a puppeteer, quickly joining forces with another puppet artist, who became my husband. We studied traditional puppetry in Indonesia, and traveled all over the U.S. as teachers and artists-in-residence. About twenty years ago, I combined what I had learned as an avid reader and writer, as a librarian and children's entertainer, and began writing books for children. All of my books are meant to be read aloud and dramatized. To learn more about how each of my books came to be, please visit my web site: http://www.judysierra.net.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sweet little folktale, April 29, 2003

By 

Melissa Levandowski - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beautiful Butterfly: A Folktale from Spain (Hardcover)

I read this book to all of my kids, but my daughter liked it better than my boys did. It's a corky, cute little tale, about a butterfly who thinks her beloved mouse friend has been eaten by a fish. Out of this comes a story that follows the same format as "There was an old lady who swallowed a Fly." This happened, then this happened, then this, etc. It's a zany little book, especially at the end. It has a happy ending. There are 26 actual pages, not counting the cover page and dedication page. There are 5 pages of full color illustrations included in the 26 pages. The illustrations are bright and lively. It's probably 1st grade level, maybe second. Young children who hear the book several times will be telling this story, I'm sure. I'm also sure they'll want to hear it again.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I WANT TO BE A CHILD AGAIN, May 20, 2000

By 

JANEL HOWERY - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beautiful Butterfly: A Folktale from Spain (Hardcover)

WHEN YOU OPEN THIS EXTRAORDINARY CHILDREN'S BOOK THE COLORS IN THE BOOK WILL TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY WHAT BEAUTY WHAT LIFE. THE BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY IS A STORY ABOUT LIFE, FRIENDS, AND LOVE, BUT TOLD ON A LEVEL ANY CHILD WOULD UNDERSTAND. I BOUGHT THIS BOOK FOR MY FRIENDS NEW BABY GIRL. BUT FIRST I HAD TO READ AND READ AGAIN THIS WONDERFUL BOOK THAT WISHED ME BACK TO CHILDHOOD WHERE ALL DREAMS DO COME TRUE.