CLIP Review: A Butterfly House

Author:  Eve Bunting
Illustrator: Greg Shed
Grades 1 - 3

My sisters and I were always rescuing stray cats, baby birds that had fallen from nests, even injured grasshoppers that couldn't hop. But we never quite knew what to do upon finding a caterpillar.  The young girl in this factually written story saves a caterpillar from a bluejay and, aided by her grandfather, builds a home for it to live in until it reaches maturity. Not only is the house they build unique and special, but the bond and relationship between the girl and her grandpa also grows in the story and becomes very special. Years later the girl (now old as Grandpa) reflects back on raising that butterfly as she watches her present day garden flooded with butterflies, smiling with understanding as to perhaps why they return each spring.

At the back of the book the author has written a detailed page on "How to Raise a Butterfly"
1. Finding a Larva
2. Preparing the Jar
3. Building a Butterfly House
4. Moving the Chrysalis to The Butterfly House
5. Feeding the Butterfly