Becoming Butterflies

Let the scientist in every child take wing.

One day Miss Dana brings a surprise to school—three striped caterpillars and a flowerpot full of milkweed. Her students can’t believe that these tiny, wriggling creatures less than an inch long will grow into butterflies, fragile beauties strong enough to fly thousands of miles to their winter home in Mexico.

And so begins a magical month of metamorphosis. The children observe and draw the changes they see as the caterpillars transform themselves right before their eyes. When the newly formed butterflies break free of their chrysalises, it is time for the class to let them go find their place in the world.

This captivating concept book simply and eloquently invites young children to witness and celebrate the cycle of life.

Publishers Weekly

The team behind One Bean and Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night join up for a lesson on metamorphosis in Becoming Butterflies by Anne Rockwell, illus. by Megan Halsey. Cut-paper collage creates a three-dimensional effect in Miss Dana's classroom; the students' pictures record the chrysalis stage and the butterflies' emergence. Front endpapers label different caterpillars, while the back endpapers picture the butterflies they become, labeled with common and scientific names. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Anne Rockwell is an acclaimed creator of innumerable children’s books. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Megan Halsey's charming illustrations can also be found in Four Seasons Make a Year; Two Blue Jays; Becoming Butterflies; Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night; and One Bean. She lives in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania.