Customer Reviews

The Butterfly

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Acquainting readers with holocaust history, The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco successfully maintains virtuosity to a war tale of sadness and tragedy while still exploring a delicate balance between the horrors of war and the childish innocence of two little girls cheerfully building a friendship. Based on the life experience of the author/illustrator's aunt Monique, the girl protagonist discovers that her family is hiding a Jewish family in her home.
Secretly meeting and playing together each night after the other members of the families sleep, Monique and Sevrine build a poetic friendship full of hope, happiness, and a childish energy that defies the boundaries between war cultures. After a neighbor catches sight of the girls playing too close to the window, the girls realize that the secret hiding place might be suspected. The plot races onward to an exciting climax as Monique and Sevrine must divulge not only their secret friendship but also the new danger to their parents. Escaping to a new hiding place, Sevrine's family is whisked away into the dark night of the unknown, while Monique hopes for her friend's safety. A symbolic butterfly fluttering through the French family's garden later assures Monique that her friend must be alive and safe. An author's note in the end pages assures readers that Sevrine did survive the holocaust-although her parents were not as fortunate.
The characters, while handled lightly in words, convey roundness in the authentic sense of emotions as they run the gamut of fear, comfort, hate, and love. Convincing as a memoir, The Butterfly successfully conveys the quiet strength of individuals amidst trial.
Perfect as a delicate and sophisticated handling of a cruel time in history, The Butterfly provides an appropriate way to dialogue with children about the uglier side of humanity-without crossing into the gruesome or blatantly shocking (although also true) stories of war that sometimes make war books inappropriate for younger children. The Butterfly provides allusions to war crimes that will be understood by older children while still providing an eye-opening tale of friendship to younger children. Targeting the age range of 6-9, The Butterfly adeptly provides insight into the beauty of life while describing life's fragility.
Known as the author/illustrator of numerous books including Pink and Say, Patricia Polacco's pencil and watercolor illustrations highlight the contrast between the cruel and the innocent. The dust jacket of the book is a perfect symbol of the juxtaposition between innocence and cruelty since the front side of the cover depicts irises, a butterfly, and a young girl with warm watercolor tones and delicate chiaroscuro while flipping the book over reveals a Nazi officer with a hard-set jaw and unseen eyes with a swastika banner depicted in harsh black, gray, and browns. Polacco's story is an important history while her illustrations make that history palatable and vivid to child and adult viewers. Experiencing The Butterfly means contemplating unsettling human history while savoring the security of friendship.

I'm not quite sure why booklist would think it unfortunate that a book is sentamental and melodramatic. I feel this book reflects the Polacco style that we have all come to know and love. The voice is true, the artwork divine and the message is clear, yet not preachy. I think this is a wonderful book and a great way to open discussions about war and racism with children.

This story is about Monique, a little girl living in Nazi occupied France. One night she discovers what she believes to be a ghost sitting on her bed. Later Monique discovers that the figure she saw was not a ghost, but a little Jewish girl named Sevrine who was hiding from the Nazis in Monique's basement.

Monique and Sevrine become close night-time friends. They play in the shadows of the night as Sevrine hides from the Nazis. Then one day Sevrine is discovered. Sevrine and her family are forced to flee from this little French town.

I was tremendously moved by this story, and my nine-year old daughter loved it as well. Patricia Polaco does a wonderful job of putting such a trying and horrible situation in words that a child can understand. I highly recommend this book.

Monique finds her life changed by the Nazis during the war; but her real change comes when she discovers a Jewish girl is hiding from them in her own basement. The two become friends, but their friendship endangers their families. Good reading skills required for this fiction story of wartime friendships and experiences.

The reviews state that THE BUTTERFLY has a target audience of ages 6-9 but I disagree! Polacco's lovely stories have appeal for all generations. Today is my daughter's birthday; she is a new 2nd grade teacher. My favorite gifts to her are six Patricia Polacco books. THE BUTTERFLY was written in honor of Polacco's great aunt, Marcelle Solliliage and her Aunt, Monique Gaw. Marcelle was part of the French underground and resistance during World War II. She bravely hid Jews in her home during the Nazi occupation. Monique was oblivious to these happenings until she met a young Jewish girl, Sevrine who happened to be hiding in the basement. A friendship developed that has endured many decades, right up to today! Polacco's exquisite story teaches the reader about true bravery, honor, and self-sacrifice (not to mention the history of a time not so long ago). How many of us would do today, as these valiant heroes have done many times in the past?

Patricia Polacco captivates young and old alike with this story of friendship and courage that is based on real events. Polacco brings the story of the Nazi occupation in France to her readers through a family hiding a Jewish family in their basement. Polacco uses rich water color illustrations to evoke feelings of fear and hope. Told from a child's point of view, this story opens the door to discussions of prejudism and racism during this time of national unrest.

My wife selected this book, for our 5 year old daughter, in the primary school library, before the Christmas break. Last night, when I picked it up to read to my daughter, I had no idea what it was about. It is a gentle introduction to World War 2 and the German Nazi's. It does not mention concentration camps or gas chambers. It is about a wonderful family in France that sheltered Jews hiding from the Nazi's, during the German occupation. This morning, my daughter asked me to read the book to her again.

My 3rd graders had asked a lot about Hitler, Nazis, and the Holocaust after one student had brought up the subject. I tried to make it understandable to that age group. But when I was searching some of Patricia Polacco's books for another unit, I came across The Butterfly. I decided this was the perfect way for my students to access the subject, by seeing it through the eyes of these 2 girls. My class was so quiet and focused as I read it. We talked about it a lot when I finished. As usual, Mrs. Polacco handles a tough subject with sensitivity and art that conveys the deeper meaning, yet in a way elementary students can handle. I am an even bigger fan of her after reading this book.

Patricia Polacco is, by far, one of the very best author-illustrators I have read. The Butterfly is the perfect balance in portraying the horrors of hatred, yet not becoming overwhelming to our young readers.

I use quality literature with my students to teach the basics of language and social issues. Whenever I read this book with my students, they are riveted from the very beginning. The discussions resulting from the story are always insightful, inspiring deep questions from the children and considerable thought.

The illustrations, as always with Patricia Polacco, elevate the emotional impact of the events of the story.

The fact that this story is of Patricia Polacco's aunt and great-aunt and a true story is meaningful to my students.

This is the first book I read my six year old about the holocaust and World War II. It gave a sense of the times, the difficulty, the hatred of the Jews by the Germans, without being too explicit about the type of horrors the "boots" inflicted on those they "took away." It motivated a great deal of discussion and acting out of the story. I could not imagine a better introduction.