My book of butterflies /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This stunning exploration of butterflies from around the world is a companion to My Book of Birds

Geraldo Valério grew up in Brazil, watching white butterflies visit the vegetable patch behind his house. As he got older, he learned more about these unique and beautiful insects, which can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

In this gorgeous album, Geraldo presents his favorite butterfly species from around the world. Paint and paper collage illustrations show the butterflies in flight, sipping nectar, laying eggs and resting among flowers and foliage. The text provides fascinating information about each species -- from familiar Monarchs and Giant Swallowtails, to dazzling Blue Morphos and tiny Snowflakes, from beautifully patterned European Peacocks to endangered Queen Alexandra's Birdwings. Colorful endpapers, showing the butterflies as caterpillars and chrysalides, complete this beautiful book for budding young naturalists.

Includes an introduction, world map, fully illustrated spreads showing a butterfly's life cycle and body parts, as well as a glossary, index and suggestions for further reading.

Key Text Features

scientific illustrations

introduction

further information

foreword

author's note

facts

scientific nomenclature

scientific illustrations

map

additional information

captions

glossary

index

labels

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.1
With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.4
With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.7
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).

Reviews provided by Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 1--This beautifully illustrated and informative picture book introduces readers to a variety of butterflies found around the world. A brief introduction by the author describes his connection to the topic by explaining how he grew up watching the butterflies and caterpillars in his family's vegetable garden in their yard. This is followed by a clearly illustrated and labeled explanation of the stages of metamorphosis--the butterfly's life cycle. The majority of the book consists of illustrations and descriptions of a wide range of butterflies, large and small. These descriptions appeal to the reader's five senses and help promote understanding. For example, a description of the Rocky Mountain Parnassian describes the sound it makes: "These butterflies are fast flyers whose strong wings make a flapping sound as they zip through the mountain meadows where they live." The illustrations, created with paper collage, acrylic, and colored pencil, are clearly showstoppers and work beautifully with the text. Back matter includes a short glossary, recommended sources and websites, and an index. The endpapers are also worth studying. The front ones show the butterfly's caterpillar form, while the back ones show the mature butterfly. VERDICT A wonderful book to use when studying animals and how they adapt to their environment, but also an excellent model of how to skillfully present information in an appealing way. Also, a great book for browsing.--Myra Zarnowski, City Univ. of New York

Kirkus Book Review

An author/illustrator shares his favorite butterflies from around the world. Spreads showcase one to four butterflies. The brightly colored, remarkably textured collage illustrations steal the show; "the layering of these paper collages reminded me of the scales in butterfly wings," Valério writes in his introduction. Factual information about butterflies' habitats, diets, wing patterns, and more are included. The book lacks a table of contents (though there is an index); its primary system of organization seems to be based on the color-coded legend that opens the book (along with spreads about a butterfly's life cycle and body parts), showing which areas of the world the butterflies live in and what page numbers they fall on. It's a book built for browsing, and the title underscores that it's a collection of this author/illustrator's personal favorites. His introduction, all about his fascination with butterflies as a child in Brazil, successfully establishes a personal connection with readers. And his sense of wonder compels the page turns: "Amazingly," he writes at one point, "the black pattern on the underside of this butterfly's wings looks like…it is wearing a team jersey!" It's as if he is right there with readers, exclaiming over his delight in these creatures. Moments of humor make it all the more enjoyable: "Insects don't read maps so some of the butterflies in this collection can be found on more than one continent." (This book was reviewed digitally.) A visual treat. (glossary, further reading) (Informational picture book. 4-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Geraldo Valério was born in Brazil, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Drawing, followed by a Master of Arts at New York University. His many highly acclaimed books include My Book of Birds (described in Booklist as "striking and beautiful"); At the Pond (two starred reviews); Friends (one starred review); Blue Rider (two starred reviews); Turn On the Night (three starred reviews) and The Egg (two starred reviews). His work has been published in many countries, including Canada, the US, Brazil, Portugal, France, the UK and China. Geraldo lives in Toronto.