When the Butterflies Came

by Kimberley Griffiths Little

Everybody thinks Tara Doucet has the perfect life. But in reality, Tara’s life is anything but perfect: Her dear Grammy Claire has just passed away, her mother is depressed and distant, and she and her sister Riley can’t seem to agree on anything. But when mysterious and dazzling butterflies begin to follow her around after Grammy Claire’s funeral, Tara just knows in her heart that her grandmother has left her one final mystery to solve.

A strange butler brings Tara and Riley to Grammy Claire’s house, where Tara finds a stack of keys and detailed letters from Grammy Claire herself. Note by note, Tara learns unexpected truths about her grandmother’s life. As the letters grow more ominous and the clues more difficult to decipher, Tara realizes that the secrets she must uncover could lead to mortal danger. And when Tara and Riley are swept away to the beautiful islands of Chuuk to hear their grandmother’s will, Tara discovers the most shocking truth of all — one that will change her life forever.

From Kimberley Griffiths Little comes a magical, breathtaking mystery full of loss and love, family and faith.

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Family

330 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2013

About the author

Kimberley Griffiths Little was born in San Francisco, but now lives in New Mexico with her husband and their three sons.

For such award-winning middle grade novels as When the Butterflies Came, The Last Snake Runner, The Healing Spell, and Circle of Secrets, her writing has been praised as "fast-paced and dramatic," with "characters painted in memorable detail" and "beautifully realized settings."

Kimberley adores anything old and musty with a secret story to tell and makes way too many cookies while writing.

She's stayed in the haunted tower room at Borthwick Castle in Scotland; sailed on the Seine in Paris; ridden a camel in Petra, Jordan; shopped the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul; and spent the night in an old Communist hotel in Bulgaria.

Her amazing, filmed-on-location book trailers are right here on Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/videos/list...

Awards: Southwest Book Award, Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel, Bank Street College Best Books of 2011 & 2014, Crystal Kite Finalist, and New Mexico Book Award Finalist.

Reviews

[Dan Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became acquainted with this book when one of my students told me about it. Based upon what she said, as well as the description written on the back of the book, I just knew that I had to read it so I asked to borrow it when she was finished. I am so glad that I did. Everything about this book says “girl” book. All I can say about that is, if this is a typical “girl” book then I want to read lots of them. This has to be one of the best mysteries I have read in quite a long time.
Tara Doucet, the protagonist, and her recently deceased Grammy Claire, most definitely have to be two of my favorite characters. I admire the love which Tara has for her Grandmother. Not only is she deeply devoted, but she also continually strives to live up to all that Grammy Claire asks of her. Grammy Claire’s love and confidence in Tara come through in the letters she leaves her. Together, they work to find out who is behind the drive to wipe out the Nipwisipwis.
For the longest time I was so caught up in the story that I wasn’t sure what genre this book is. Additionally, for the longest time, I wasn’t sure exactly where the author was taking the reader to. When I finally figured these two things out, I was so caught up in the story that there was no way that I could bear to put it down for even a moment. The only thing that kept me from just reading through straight to the end was that this book sat on my bedside table and when I found myself reading the same page for the third time in one evening I knew that it was time to turn off the light and go to sleep. Many thanks to my student Lexi for lending me such an enjoyable book.

[Whisperwind · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. First of all. I don't usually read mysteries. I had no idea that this was a mystery. It is. Saying that for those of you who want to read about butterflies, but hate mysteries.
Second of all. My friend read this and was crying. She was crying due to family problems. Everyone thought the book was sad. I had recently finished the book. It's not a sad book (well, most of it isn't sad).
Now. My biggest problem. This is a spoiler. I'm not marking this review as a spoiler. THE EFFIN BUTLER DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean, how common is THAT?!! He tried to DROWN the mc and her sis. He tricked them and wants to use the butterflies magic and give all the research to a company that will hurt them. Sorry. Skip over that if you don't like spoilers. But it is so common of an outcome!!!
Another problem. I can't stand the main character. She is a "princess" but is so... unroyal. She is not princess material, no matter her bloodline. If she were my princess, I would send her into exile right away. And also, WHAT KIND OF PRINCESS CHEWS HER HAIR??!?!!!!!!!!! A goat princess???!!!!!?!?! It's just gross.
I also could not tolerate the mc's mother. Every time something bad happens, she just runs off leaving a 16 year old and an 11year old at home alone. Such bad parenting. But it turns out, she never even leaves the house. Biggest Facepalm ever.
The cool thing was all the butterfly quotes. Those really made a difference in my life.
"You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder." "Butterflies are always following me, everywhere I go." "Nerves and butterflies are a physical sign that your mentally ready and eager. You have to get the butterflies to fly in the right formation, that's the trick." "Someday I will be a beautiful butterfly, and then everything will be better." "'just living is not enough' said the butterfly. 'One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.'" "Butterflies are invisible fairies, creating flowers everywhere they dance." "The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." "If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies." "There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly." "Devine creation can be seen painted on a butterflies wing." They say 'only in dreams men are truly free, what does a butterfly dream about? - it is already free!'" "I do not know if I was then a girl dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a girl." "No garden truly blooms until butterflies have danced upon it." "We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it's forever." "I'll be floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee." "How does one become a butterfly? You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar." "We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to adhesive that beauty." "We are closer to the ants than to the butterflies." "The magnificent butterfly finds a little heap of dirt and sits still on it; but man will never on his heap of mud keep still." "What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." "Caterpillars? Pupas? Cocoons or chrysalis? Only God knows the mysteries and secrets of a true nipwispwis." "Not quite birds, as they were not quite flowers, mysterious and fascinating as are all indeterminate creatures." "In nature, a repulsive caterpillar turns into a lovely butterfly. But with humans it is the other way around: a lovely butterfly turns into a repulsive caterpillar." "The air is like a butterfly with frail blue wings. The happy earth looks at the sky and sings..." "Just like the butterfly, I too will awaken in my own time...."
My personal favorite which should be on all greeting cards is this one,
May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
And find your shoulder to light on
To bring you luck, happiness, and riches
Today, tomorrow, and beyond. (My friends who live in Ireland might recognize this one, as it is an Irish blessing)

[Genesis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first butterfly came with others following. This book, When the Butterflies Came by Kimberley Griffiths Little, went soaring high in the sky. The author flew very high with this book. This fictional book is designated for children. When Tara Doucet loses her dear beloved Grammy Claire, she is left alone in no one’s hands. To make matters worse, her mother hides in her shell and leaves Tara alone with her chaotic sister, Riley, who is going through teen hood, and her dad has left them to go live in California for Hollywood Life. In this somber, empty house Tara is left to find the strange notes and keys that her Grammy Claire left behind on purpose. She is taken along on a journey and discovers secrets about Grammy Claire that she had no idea about her.
Tara learns important discoveries about her life and family. The world is full of secrets.

This wonderful story is told in 1st person by Tara telling the story. The author describes the whole setting and description of what is happening. She describes how Tara is feeling every time she made a discovery. You can learn that every nook and cranny, there are secrets. Life is full of disappointing and wonderful secrets. The author comes up with a great way of keeping the reader interested in the book. She creates a nice plot with a lot of suspense. Each time you turn the page you are filled with suspense and thoughts about the story. This book is a brilliant book filled with details and suspense that will make everyone reading. This is one of the most marvelous books I have ever read. It teaches a world-wide lesson that everyone should know.

Genesis Nam
10.26.2013
~ RATING: * * * * *

[Kimberley Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

I *adored* mysteries growing up and tried my hand writing them many years ago without luck. This new book is the closest thing to a mystery that I've published so far, and it was fun to see it come alive as I worked on it. WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME has many elements I adore: islands and beaches and a tree house a la Swiss Family Robinson style from Disneyland (which I always pretended was my own secret tree house), secret letters, mysterious keys, and magical butterflies. The cover art from artist Erin McGuire is fantastic and simply perfect.

[Almeera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I literally loved this book as a child but recently processed the fact that this book is about neocolonialism and has a white savior undertone. Love the imagery in this book so so much but I literally cannot get over the fact that this book ultimately has a theme of exploiting an indigenous group of people and their land for the sake of "science"

[Maleah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too good to be true! This is just amazing. When I finished it I'm like "this is the best book ever"! I think there should be a When The Butterflies Return to sum it up. I would recommend this to anyone who likes fiction and mystery. My friend read this and said it was the best book ever. My grandma read it and said this is an amazing book. This book is family friendly!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book in third grade and I've read it more times than I can remember since. It made me look at butterflies in a whole new way. I was so surprised that the grandmother staged everything. That totally caught me off guard. This is a beautiful book about loss, friendship, mystery and butterflies!

[Sheila (sheilasbookreviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another beautiful story by Kimberley Griffiths Little. I'm always so moved by the powerful stories that she tells. When the Butterflies Came is another excellent addition to the middle grade reading world. The mystery will ensnare you,and the storyline will touch you heart.

[소피아 · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a amazing twist at the end of the story. I was stunned and I would never guess that the grandma was alive!

[Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book years ago and was recently reminded of it when I went to a book store and discussed books we read in our childhood. The story of this one was magical and really dragged me in when I was younger.

[Emma Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book literally in middle school and still think about it to this day! I gotta reread one of these days

[Betty-Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful. ❤️

[M I K A Y L A · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all time favorite book! I could not stop reading this when I got it from my school's libary in 4th grade. Do not hesitate to PICK THIS UP!!! I promise you it is worth it!

[Zaina]

Goooooooooood

[AS · Rating 2 out of 5]

-This book takes place partly in Louisiana, and partly in Chuuk, Micronesia. I was hoping to include it as one of the books on my list Seven Continents of Books, but unfortunately the descriptions of Chuuk are just way too generic for that.

Well, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book! Parts of it were really fun and intriguing, and parts of it definitely bothered me. The mystery was interesting and I liked the butterflies and the visit to Chuuk (though we don’t really learn anything that’s specific to Chuuk, except that… surprise! it’s tropical! 🙄 It could have been any other tropical island in the world, to be honest. I wonder why the author didn’t make it the Bahamas, for instance. So I was definitely disappointed by that, because I wanted to learn about Chuuk.)

The writing could be better. It’s exaggeratedly kid-like and melodramatic at some points, and more calm and adult-like at others. It moves kind of slowly overall, and many of the characters could be better fleshed out. Riley is completely ridiculous, for instance. There’s no need for a main character to be so unlikeable and one-dimensional. Zero nuance with her.

On a more serious note, it’s upsetting to read a story where a kid has so many unreliable and/or untrustworthy adults in their life, and there’s so little acknowledgment of it. Absentee, lying dad. Her mom gets depressed enough that she needs medical attention, and that’s kind of an afterthought in the story- and the kids are basically left in charge. I think that sends a strange message to readers, that if parents have problems, the kids should be expected to just wing it on their own. Not okay! Poor Tara was only twelve and she had the weight of a dozen serious things on her shoulders. Her grandmother also did something I find completely unforgivable, that we learn at the end. (I also would steer clear of reading this with a kid who has recently lost a grandparent, because the ending could hit them in a very hurtful way.)

Also, there are some parts I would think younger readers would find pretty scary and upsetting.

I would have loved this if the adults had behaved better overall, and if the reader got to learn something… anything!!! about Chuuk. But as it is, I can’t recommend it.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tara's grandmother dies in a car accident which sets the whole story into motion. Her father has left and her mother has checked out. Tara and her older sister Riley have a typical sibling relationship meaning they are just mean to each other. The first butterfly visits on the afternoon of the funeral and the Grammy Claire's butler/lawyer/friend shows up with a letter filled with clues and unanswered questions and whisks Tara and Riley off to her house on the bayou of Louisiana. Soon the clues lead them to the island of Chuuk where Tara must solve the mystery and save the butterflies.

I gave this a 3 because the ending just left too many plot holes that I as an adult couldn't ignore.

Good points
Well-written, engaging story
Clues were marvelous and the main reason I kept reading
Information about the butterflies was marvelous
Loved the butterflies

Bad points (Spoiler Alert)
Tara and Riley were not very likable at the beginning, just too mean to each other.
Ending
What king of grandmother who, when her life is in danger and fears that she will be killed sets up an elaborate ploy with albeit wonderful clues that places her granddaughters in danger and then watches from afar. And then tells Tara that she can implicitly trust the one person who she shouldn't trust. The events that lead to the climax were not well thought out. The plot needed most foreshadowing so it would all come together reasonably.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ages 8-12. Companion book to "Circle of Secrets". Tara saw the first butterfly the day after her Grammy Claire's funeral. Then another comes, and another... These butterflies seem to respond to Tara's words and emotions in ways that seem more than coincidental. Then Grammy Claire's butler brings a package addressed to Tara--from Grammy Claire. Inside are keys, and clues to where they fit. Her quest to solve her grandmother's mystery leads Tara and her sister Riley along with the butler to a remote island in Micronesia, where Grammy Claire had been doing research on butterflies. But there's something sinister about it, and Tara knows someone is out to do the butterflies harm. But who? And why? Tara ultimately suspects that whoever it is may have have had something to do with Grammy Claire's untimely death. And when Tara comes close to the answer, she finds herself in danger, as well. There are a few details that, as an adult reader, I tripped over (like how two minors are taken halfway around the world by a stranger without anyone questioning it, and with no concern about passports or visas), but kids will be so caught up in the mystery and adventure that they won't think twice about it.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this together with my daughter for Summer reading. We thought that it was a good story, but it was very slow, almost to the point of boring. Tara was a hard main character to like, she was grieving through the entire story so she was always crying, always sad, always in grief. The plot unraveled so slowly with all the letters only leading to more clues, and more clues, and more clues. There was so much build up that when we finally got to the end, it was almost a let down. My daughter, who is 12, just never really connected to the characters. She never got really drawn in to the story because she would say it was boring, and each chapter never really felt like you were progressing. We liked the butterflies and the descriptions of them and the island, but we still felt like there should have been more to them than what it turned out to be. The last 50 pages or so picked up and there was some action and a twist, but really we could have went from chapter 2 to the end and not read anything in between and still felt like we knew the story. It had potential, it just kind of fell flat for us..

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 4th grade daughter read this book and loved it so much that I had to read it too. I can see why she likes it - magic butterflies, adventure, a mysterious treasure hunt and a surprise twist ending. I was consistently underwhelmed though. The plot clipped along but it felt hollow. The characters had quirky details but didn't really have depth. The book is also set between Louisiana and Chuuk (an island in Micronesia), two locations that feel like the author tried to imbue with appropriate character and detail but doesn't really manage to capture the impression that she's ever actually been in either place. Overall, I had this book set up in my head to be great children's literature and it was a fun, light romp instead.

[Mardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by one of my students who is a voracious reader. Her words to me were, "Mrs. Wilkins, you NEED to read this book. It is one of the best books I have read in a long time." She even brought her copy to me so that I wouldn't have to wait for the public library copy. What a gem!

This was a lovely little story about butterflies, youth, and the love between a grandmother and granddaughter. With enough detail and a hint of mystery, I found myself completely engaged with each page turning. The ending was a magical surprise. If you are looking for a delightful read for your middle grade student, please don't hesitate to pick this book up.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

My cousins spent four years in Chuuk, so this set of mini mysteries held my attention a tad longer than if it had been another island. Beautiful setting. Cover says recommended for 5th-7th graders, but I think some 4th would enjoy it. I think older readers would expect a bit more realistic challenges, every key fit her first attempt, and the ending was too 'happy ever' with the grandmother really not being dead, she falls in love, reconciles with her sister, and mother gets her health back.

[Katie Bettis · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the Butterflies Came by Kimberly Griffiths Little is about how a girl named Tara Doucet's grandma died. Her mother gets depressed and very distant. She has a sister named Riley, but they don't get along. After her grandma's funeral, a bunch of mysterious butterflies start to follow her. She can tell that her grandma is giving her one last mystery to solve. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes realistic fiction.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all since the genre isn't apparent from the synopsis: this is a mystery with a touch of fantasy. Next, i just couldn't love this book. The main character makes jumps in logic or forgets about conclusions she's made that I just couldn't understand. The twists are not believable. Appropriate for 5th-7th graders.

[bro wot · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABsOLuTeY AMaZiNg. i first read this book when i was like 11 or 12, and i’m 16 now, and it’s still one of my absolute favorites. I adore this book so so very much, and i’ve reread probably a hundred times, haha.

[Sadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book about Tara or "Pantene Princess". It was an amazingly good novel. I loved the different personalities of all the characters and the mystery introduced from page 1. It captivated me and made me feel like I was in the book!! Talk about a MUST-READ!!!

[Joanna Warrens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at a little free library in Nashville. Today I put my phone in a time out. I sat on the front porch and read it and watched birds. The book is sweet and engaging. It’s a good story about sisters. I will read more by this author.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book of the summer and it was amazing!! I love Kimberly's storytelling and magic.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was amazing because it had a lot of mystery. The book made you think one thing and at the end it's not true. I recommend this book if you like to solve mysteries.

[Chantele Sedgwick]

Beautiful writing and loved the story.

[Holli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must read everything this writer has written!