Customer Reviews

A Place for Butterflies

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Our daughter loves this book! She started to read it because she was interested in butterflies, but the text not only discusses butterflies, it explains how they have an enormous impact on other living things. As a result, the young reader comes away with a deep understanding of how the natural world works. The book is about more than just butterflies. The illustrations are also excellent. I highly recommend it.

Award-winning children's book author Melissa Stewart presents A Place For Butterflies, a picturebook beautifully illustrated by Higgins Bond with realistic, full-color art of butterfly species and the lush natural environments they inhabit. Each two-page spread features a couple sentences about butterflies, a sidebar about a specific butterfly species, and artwork of a typical home for that species ranging from forests to lush open fields. A Place For Butterflies is written to instill love and appreciation for these marvelous insects, and a final section about helping butterflies warns against catching or keeping them, or spraying chemicals that could harm them.

A unique look at twelve butterflies of North America and their different needs for survival. Through multi-layered text, even the youngest readers discover what people have done to both harm and help these beautiful insects, and how other plants and animals depend on butterflies for their own survival. The illustrations include views of each caterpillar--from bright stripes to hairy to just plain strange looking! The lushly detailed artwork also begs for further exploration of the different habitats. Things readers can do to help protect butterflies are listed at the end of the book. Curriculum guides and other activities related to the book can be found on the author's website, www.melissa-stewart.com.

This is one of the best butterfly books I've seen for children. They will learn about much more than butterflies; children will come away with an understanding of how human behavior can affect the natural world. Melissa Stewart successfully tackles the tough task of introducing children to environmental concerns without being heavy-handed. Her tone is hopeful and the text gives readers a true appreciation for butterflies and their ecosystems. The book is written in simple rhythmic language with two levels of text. Young children can read the easier text, while older children, a parent, or a teacher can read the higher level text. This promotes a valuable shared reading experience. The book ends with some practical suggestions of things kids can do to help butterflies.

A Place for Butterflies, written by Melissa Stewart, is a science book that reads like an intriguing story. In clear and poetic language, Stewart explains how specific butterfly species survive and how each is intricately linked to its environment. Readers will also discover how human actions affect these splendid creatures. Written in a reverent and hopeful tone, the book will foster both a sense of wonder and responsibility. Delightfully detailed paintings by Higgins Bond provide an exquisite accompaniment.

Having been given A Place for Butterflies as a gift, my children and I became enamored of Melissa Stewart's writing. Her concise, simple language structure is rhythmic and flowing. Her facts about butterflies and their habitat -- and the necessity to preserve that habitat -- show how the natural world is affected by human behavior and how each of us can help the butterfly in simple ways. Each page of illustrations is as beautiful as the illustration on the cover.

We went on to A Place for Birds, A Place for Frogs (Great!), Under the Snow, When it Rains, etc. Each book shows the hidden behaviors of nature's creatures and the interconnectedness of each of us with the natural world. The books are positive, hopeful and entertaining. (Oh, no, the readers don't realize they are being educated!) We give these books for birthday gifts and teacher gifts for the classroom. The gratitude is always heartfelt.