A Monarch Butterfly's Life

by John Himmelman

Illustrations and simple text describes the daily activities and life cycle of a monarch butterfly

Genres: Picture Books, Science, Nonfiction, Childrens

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

John Himmelman is the author and illustrator of more than sixty books for children, including Chickens to the Rescue. He lives in Connecticut with his family.

According John's Facebook page, he has been "making up stories and scribbling pictures since I could hold a crayon in my hand. It became my job in 1981, when my first book, "Talester the Lizard" was published during my last year in college (School of Visual Arts)....It behooves a writer to try and turn what interests them into their work. I've been fortunate to do that with my love of nature, with books - for adults and children - focusing on different natural history topics."

Reviews

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous, vibrantly colored illustrations are the highlight of this picture book about the Monarch butterfly. The narrative is short, but depicts the extremely long journey that these butterflies embark upon each year.

The story details the life cycle of this butterfly and the large pictures really capture the amazing details of these creatures. The glossary at the end of the book is helpful to reinforce any terms that might have been unfamiliar within the text.

[Meredith Bush · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short book going through the life of a monarch butterfly and is full of easy facts for young children. It shows a monarch starting out as a larva, turning into a chrysalis and then becoming a butterfly. It also takes about the monarch’s journey as it begins to migrate. This would be a good book to use when talking about the life of butterflies as well as what migration is and what insects and birds migrate.

[Amber Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a nonfiction picture book that is about the life of the Monarch butterfly and the different stages of life it goes through. The books amazing watercolor illustrations are what truly captured me and this would be great for students to read to discuss butterflies and the changes that occur. You could even get one of those classroom butterfly kits so that they can watch the changes in person and eventually get to release them.

[☼Bookish in Virginia☼ · Rating 5 out of 5]

~ borrowed from the Library

John Himmelman's book is one of the better ones I've read about Monarch Butterflies. (You can see this one and others on the blog.)

Written at the 2nd Grade reading level, he uses clear descriptions of the seasons to help convey how short a Monarch's life is. His artwork is Kid-friendly, showing the caterpillars and other creatures up close, and in a bright palette.

The sentences are short, while still giving plenty of information.

[Cheryl Meibos · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is so amazing that these butterflies travel so many miles in their migration!

[Kaitlin Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Monarch Butterfly’s Life begins with a butterfly laying its final egg on a milkweed plant in Connecticut. From there, the story follows the egg as it hatches and transforms into a butterfly through metamorphosis, then as it eats, travels, and mates as an adult, until it lays its own eggs and the cycle continues for its offspring. One unique feature of this book is vocabulary words through the text are italicized and then listed in a glossary in the back of the book to assist readers. The illustrations often provide the monarch’s perspective, from the view flying over trees to the look of an approaching insect. This story masterfully blends science and story by incorporating accurate vocabulary into the story of one butterfly’s personal journey. There is nothing I disliked or would change about this book because I found it to be informative, engaging, and accurate with illustrations that were vibrant, detailed, and inviting. This book would be really enjoyable for young readers with its vibrant illustrations that complement clear, simple, and accurate text.

[Leila · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great to introduce about butterfly. This book teaches the life cycle of butterfly. It introduces new vocabulary such as larva, chrysalis etc. It allows teachers to do activities such as sequencing the life cycle of butterfly.