Look to the Skies: The Magical Migration of the Monarch Butterfly

by Nicola Edwards, Hannah Tolson (Illustrator)

Experience the wonder of the migration of monarch butterflies as they travel across North America in search of warmer temperatures in this engaging book, which features die cuts throughout.

Every year, monarch butterflies begin a lengthy migration across North America in search of warmer temperatures. The butterflies travel 3,000 miles across open fields, forests, lakes and streams, and mountains, and as they fly, people across the country look to the skies. From children playing in the water to families out for a walk in the park, everyone turns his or her attention to the sky to marvel at the amazing sight. Features die cuts throughout and additional information about monarchs.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

Published June 28, 2022

About the author

Nicola Edwards was raised by the seaside in beautiful Brighton. She loves reading, dancing, rhyming and turquoise things. She now lives with her husband in East London and spends her days writing and editing children’s books.

Reviews

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This informative picture book captures the magic and wonder of seeing monarch butterflies on the wing. Where are they going? How can we help them? This would make a wonderful nonfiction read-aloud for the classroom or library.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many books about Monarch butterflies available for those interested in the species, but this one is particularly attractive. Featuring die-cuts all throughout the book, including three on the cover, through which young readers can find the butterflies in various sizes, this book follows the butterflies as they make their way through the sky on their way to places that are still warm. As they fly, they capture the attention of a wide array of individuals in cities, deserts, the plains, all of whom stop what they're doing and look upward at that orange crew. Eventually, 3,000 miles later, they jostle with each other for a place to rest among the fir trees of Mexico. The concluding pages show the butterflies clustered so closely that they almost obliterate the trees. The use of "we" in the text initially made me think that a family was going to be following the butterflies over the seasons, but that was not the case. The rhyming text has an almost hypnotic quality that lulls readers into a sense of peacefulness as those butterflies evoke a sense of wonder and then relief when their journey ends. Every page in this picture book is filled with brilliant hues and bountiful numbers of butterflies, and even the endpapers feature these Monarchs with only a few on the first endpaper and several on the last one. The inclusion of a map showing the butterflies' range is helpful since not all Monarchs migrate to the oyamel forests in Mexico. Books such as this one are particularly effective in raising awareness about the threats toward a species' survival, making it a good choice for a science classroom library.