Fly, Monarch! Fly! [Hardcover]

Nancy Elizabeth Wallace (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2008 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Join Minna, Pip, Mom, and Dad on a visit to Butterfly Place as they meet Bert the Butterfly Man. They hunt for monarch butterfly eggs and caterpillars, and see the amazing change from pupa to adult monarch butterfly. They learn all about monarchs, metamorphosis, and monarch migration. Nancy Elizabeth Wallace’s sunny cut-paper artwork and lively text entertain as they teach about one of nature’s most remarkable creatures. A make-a-butterfly magnet craft and additional monarch facts and resources are included.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3—It is a late-summer day, and the Rabbit family, dressed in long sleeves and hats, are off to the Butterfly Place. There, Bert the butterfly expert guides them through the life cycle of the monarch butterfly. There's plenty of easy-to-digest information here, with scientific vocabulary such as "molting" and "chrysalis" carefully explained. The family outing is a nicely done science lesson, filled with facts and extras at the end of the book. There's even a craft included. The cut-paper illustrations are technically quite well done, but a few inconsistencies are jarring. The family's clothing does not fit the season, and on one page showing the "beautiful green jewel" of a chrysalis, the pupa is quite blue. The simple and bright images are likely to appeal to a younger crowd than the text indicates. That said, the book still contains plenty of accessible information that may be useful for collections needing more butterfly materials.—Angela J. Reynolds, Annapolis Valley Regional Library, Bridgetown, NS, Canada
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From Booklist

One summer day, Mom, Dad, Minna, and Minna’s little brother, Pip, bicycle over to an outdoor nature center called Butterfly Place (Where Monarchs Reign). Their guide, Bert, aka Butterfly Man (which is a little strange, since all the characters are dressed as bunnies), guides them through excellent exhibits showing butterfly development: egg laying, hatching, the caterpillar stage, eating, skin shedding, the pupa or chrysalis stage, the emergence of a monarch, and nectar drinking. The book’s cheerful presentation conveys a good deal of information in a playful, easy-to-absorb fashion as children vicariously explore the hands-on exhibits along with Minna and Pip. Instructive signs carry additional facts for those intrigued by the subject. In making the collage illustrations, Wallace used markers and acrylic paints as well as brightly colored, cut papers to good effect. The closing pages offer instructions for a craft project, tips for a butterfly garden, and some additional facts and sources concerning monarchs. A creative addition to kindergarten and primary-grade butterfly units. Grades K-2. --Carolyn Phelan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Childrens Books (April 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076145425X
• ISBN-13: 978-0761454250
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #344,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This lively, colorful book's creative format makes it easy to learn all about the monarch's life cycle!, June 19, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fly, Monarch! Fly! (Hardcover)

It was a nice summer day and Mom and Dad decided that it would be a beautiful day to take their two little bunnies, Minna and Pip, to the Butterfly Place. They were all excited because visiting monarch butterflies was a lot of fun. They all hopped on their bicycles and soon were there where Bert, the Butterfly Man, was happy to greet them. He suggested that they might want to go hunting for eggs in the Milkweed Meadow. They each had to take a magnifying glass because he told them that monarch eggs weren't "much bigger than the head of a pin." Now this was going to be a very interesting day trip!

They went looking for tiny eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves. Each one of them looked like a "teeny igloo." Minna, who read a butterfly book, knew that monarchs lay more than four hundred eggs. They were all very interested when Bert told them all about the metamorphosis of the monarch from the egg to the larva to the pupa to the adult. Pip and Dad kidded around when Pip said he was a caterpillar and Dad said, "I'm a bird who wants to eat you up." When Minna found a real caterpillar, she was very excited when Bert told her all about it. When they put costumes on to show how the caterpillar molted it was even more fun. The Butterfly Place was a great place to learn about Monarchs!

This is a lively, colorful book about monarchs that is far from stuffy or dry. The storybook format makes it easy, fun and interesting to absorb a few facts about the monarch butterfly and by default, entomology. The collage, done primarily using origami paper, is bright and appealing. In the front of the book is a tasty looking recipe for "Butterfly Sandwiches." Throughout the book are interesting signs or sidebars with informative material. In the back of the book is a pattern for Minna's Monarch Magnet, hints on how to plant a butterfly garden and more facts about monarchs and viceroy butterflies. Did you know that "butterflies can see more colors than any other creature on Earth?"