Monarch Butterfly

Sometimes, the best books come through suggestions. I had a classmate suggest I try a Gail Gibbons

title, and Monarch Butterfly (1989) found its way into my hands. Like many of her books, Monarch Butterfly is an informative, straightforward text that delves into the life cycle of the monarch butterfly.

Gibbons does an artful job of illustrating the butterfly's life cycle through text and illustrations. One of the wonderful things about her books is how they dive right in to the text on the first page. In Monarch Butterfly in particular, her opening illustrations are double framed, and look like a photograph within a picture. However, Gibbons likes for her illustrations to stray outside of their frames sometimes. Gibbons writing sets a warm, inviting tone for the reader. Her use of detail almost personifies the butterflies that she passionately writes about.

Monarch Butterfly would be an excellent text for kindergarten through second grade. The illustrations are well labeled and the difficult words are illustrated and explained for the reader. After going through this book, I feel certain my kindergartners would be able to fill out (with some help, of course!) a graphic organizer with their own illustrations mapping out the life cycle of a butterfly!

Any Gail Gibbons titles are a welcome addition within my own personal library. I would strongly suggest Monarch Butterfly, or any other Gibbons titles, for your personal and classroom library!