Gotta Go! Gotta Go! (Sunburst Book) [Paperback]

Sam Swope (Author), Sue Riddle (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2004 | Age Level: 3 and up | Series: Sunburst Book

An incredible journey

"I don't know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!" The creepy-crawly bug doesn't know why she does what she does. She only knows she has to do it. But making the journey seems impossible for the slow-moving critter, who has no idea what or where Mexico is. Then an everyday miracle occurs, bringing a transformation that will help her fulfill her destiny. Each autumn, millions of Monarch butterflies migrate from the central and eastern United States and Canada to colonies in the mountains of Mexico, where they mate before flying north in the spring to lay their eggs. In simple, jaunty text and pictures, Sam Swope and Sue Riddle celebrate the amazing story of one of these intrepid bugs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"I don't know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!" chants a black-and-yellow-striped "creepy-crawly bug" as she proceeds slowly across a meadow. When an ant or grasshopper asks her destination, she restates the imperative and "creepy-crawl[s] away just as fast as she [can] go." All this hurrying wearies her, and after a "long and hard and very strange" nap in a cocoon, she awakens to discover orange-and-black wings on her back. Refreshed, she takes flight and reaches Mexico, where she meets other migrating Monarch butterflies. Swope (The Krazees) suggests the urgency of the caterpillar's mission by treating it as a kind of hard-wired biological destiny; repeated key phrases and the butterfly's simplified life cycle underscore its sense of a natural fate. At the conclusion, the tale comes full circle with the hatching of another creepy-crawly bug. Debut children's book artist Riddle complements the lucid narration with charming ink-and-watercolor miniatures. Her closeups of the metamorphosing heroine give way to aerial views of farm and canyon as the Monarch flies southward; a deft use of white space creates a sense of loneliness for the solo bug, culminating in a graceful dance of butterfly couples in a penultimate spread. The clarity of the storytelling and artwork match the heroine's determination. Ages 3-7. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-This is the tale of a "creepy-crawly bug" (Monarch caterpillar), who says "I don't know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!" On her long trek, she meets a grasshopper and an ant, takes a "nice long rest" (metamorphosis), and finally reaches the hibernation grove in Mexico. She wakens in spring to "dance" with another creepy-crawly bug before heading north again to lay her eggs-"-the reason for everything." An author's note and the jacket blurb provide some factual fodder for parents and teachers. Small, full-color illustrations accompany the text. They are attractive, but unremarkable. For a supremely better introduction to the miraculous world of butterfly metamorphosis, try Deborah Heiligman's From Caterpillar to Butterfly (HarperCollins, 1996) or Mary Ling's Butterfly (DK, 1992); for Monarchs in particular use Gail Gibbons's Monarch Butterfly (Holiday, 1989); and for the mysteries of migration, April Pulley Sayre's poetic Home at Last: A Song of Migration (Holt, 1998) is a gem.
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Square Fish (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374427860
• ISBN-13: 978-0374427863
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 6.4 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,631 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #50 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Bugs & Spiders > Fiction
  • #59 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Fiction
  • #98 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Fiction

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