137 books
—
19 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Beautiful Butterfly: A Folktale from Spain” as Want to Read:
The Beautiful Butterfly: A Folktale from Spain
by
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.
...more
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
March 20th 2000
by Clarion Books
(first published February 17th 2000)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
The Beautiful Butterfly,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about The Beautiful Butterfly
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of The Beautiful Butterfly: A Folktale from Spain

A book that was recommended as an additional reading on Spain for our Spain/Europe history lesson. It didn't disappoint. My 5 yr old loved it and had a hard time guessing what was going to happen, which he enjoys. The author writes a note in the back saying she changed the ending slightly because it wasn't quite as depressing. Usually I like the darker endings, but because I was reading it with my son, I'm glad it had a happier ending. We both really enjoyed it. Probably somewhere around a level
...more

This is one of the worst children's books I've seen in a while. It's unfortunate because I like several of the author's other books, but this is one I would skip. I did not like the story or the pictures.
Based on a Spanish folktale, the story centers around a butterfly who is supposed to be very beautiful, but who I find a little creepy. She decides to marry a mouse because he can sing to her children, then, when it appears that he is dead, she becomes very upset--not because she misses him, bu ...more
Based on a Spanish folktale, the story centers around a butterfly who is supposed to be very beautiful, but who I find a little creepy. She decides to marry a mouse because he can sing to her children, then, when it appears that he is dead, she becomes very upset--not because she misses him, bu ...more

I like the idea of exposing children to the stories of other cultures. This story is an adaptation of a Spanish folktale. It seems that in Spain they have many stories where a girl bug and a boy of another species fall in love. While these stories usually have a tragic end, I was very happy to see that the author wanted to make the reader smile with a happy ending! This makes reading this book to a sensitive child much more enjoyable. After all, there's plenty of time for them to grow up, so I'm
...more

A beautiful Spanish butterfly, with wings speckled liked brightly colored flowers, decides to marry a little gray mouse. When the mouse falls in the pond while fetching water for his bride, a fish gobbles him up. Only a king in his underwear can make the butterfly laugh and giggle again, and while doing do so, makes the fish release the little gray mouse. A happy reunion is in the works and my favorite part is the little 'buttermice' babies that the butterfly and mouse produce.
Used for "UGH!... ...more
Used for "UGH!... ...more

A cute little tale about a beautiful butterfly who is very picky about which animal she will marry, basing her decision on how beautifully they can sing to their children. She marries the mouse, but he gets eaten by a fish which then throws the whole world into despair along with the butterfly. Their despair is relieved when the mouse is returned, whole and well, to his new wife.
Cute, colorful illustrations.
Cute, colorful illustrations.

This book was different, I felt that it was unique how they interpreted the butterfly looking for the perfect voice for her future kids lullaby and she would not marry anyone else but the perfect voice. I thought it was rare to interpret how the butterfly chooses her husband, how your surroundings sympathizes with one and help heal. I thought it was considerate for the author to change the original ending to this folktale because of the children readers.

When a lonely beautiful butterfly finally finds a husband, he gets swallowed up by a fish while filling a pail of water. Through the butterfly's mourning, nature begins to work together and gets the fish to spit out the butterfly's husband. This book was a great way to give a sense of hope in desperate moments. It can be suitable for young children (preschoolers and up).
...more

Enchanting tale for young kids.

Very strange, and not in a good way.
I also wasn't terribly pleased with the idea that marriage is just about producing children, which was Miss Butterfly's criteria for choosing a husband. ...more
I also wasn't terribly pleased with the idea that marriage is just about producing children, which was Miss Butterfly's criteria for choosing a husband. ...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
I took a roundabout path to becoming a children's author. Out of college I did temporary work in offices and libraries, while at night, I wrote poetry and made strange life forms from cloth. When I teamed up with a puppeteer, Bob Kaminski (my husband), I was able to bring my cloth creations to life. We began performing on the streets of San Francisco, at Renaissance fairs, and at schools. After at
...more
News & Interviews
Readers have a lot to look forward to this year! Just feast your eyes upon all of these debut books to check out and emerging authors to...
78 likes · 31 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »