Butterflies

by Sara Nelson

Describes the behavior, habitat, and life cycle of butterflies.

48 pages, Library Binding

First published September 7, 2007

About the author

Sara Nelson is an American publishing industry figure who is an editor, book reviewer, consultant, and columnist. She is currently the editorial director at Amazon.com. Nelson is notable for having been editor in chief at the book industry's chief trade publication Publishers Weekly from 2005–2009 during a time of wrenching restructuring and industry downsizing. After that, she was book editor at Oprah's O Magazine. Her book So Many Books, So Little Time was published in 2003. Her views have been widely reported in numerous publications such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, and she has appeared on television broadcasts including CBS's The Early Show. She has written for the Wall Street Journal and the Huffington Post about publishing industry trends and has been described as a "lively presence within the book publishing industry." She is an extensive reader and has been described as a lover of books.

Reviews

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this book props for doing what so few books do: stating theories as theories! "Scientist think that butterflies appeared on Earth about 40 million years ago." Yes! It's a theory. They THINK that's when they appeared! Good call not stating it as a sure fact. Sorry. Pet peeve of mine. But it's such a relief when writers get it right! lol

This is a very lice nonfiction piece, geared at elementary readers, since it's too wordy for the younger kiddos. While the book does look dated, the pictures are still excellent, and the random facts fascinating. Really, it had never even occurred to me to ASK how butterflies got their name! I love when books answer questions I hadn't thought to ask!

My mother tells me that my great aunt was always terrified of butterflies. She said they were always "swooping down at her." I always thought this was silly, because , really...afraid of butterflies? And while I still think this was just an odd phobia, this book taught me that some butterflies actually DO land on people to drink their sweat! Hey. They're welcome to mine anytime! What a cool little fact!

Overall, I found this to be a great book, filled with lots of information I hadn't known. Very nice.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Butterfly by Sara Nelson is yet another interesting children’s book. The book, published in 2007 can be categorized as nonfiction. Recommended for grade 4 to 8, the book can also be a good read for all who appreciates nature and science.
The book is all about butterflies. There is estimated to be approximately 24000 types of butterflies, and they are found in all parts of the world apart from Antarctica and over oceans. The author cites that the reason butterflies are rare in some areas is because of the climatic conditions of the places. For butterflies to survive in a place the conditions must be conducive, i.e., there should be flowers because that is their main source of food.
I liked what I learned about butterflies from this book. I believe children will be amazed at the vast variety of butterflies. It is fun to read the life cycles of butterflies from this book with colorful realistic pictures with great use of space on each page rather than just read it from a science textbook. This is because; though giving the same scientific facts about the species, the book puts it in a very interesting way. This work even talks about butterflies and their several incredible ways to escape from their enemies. For example, they camouflage in their surrounding environments so that their predators cannot find them.
The book is written in an easy to read language that can be understood by all age groups. The author talks about butterflies in a more fun way that gives the reader the urge to always protect them. We all know that butterflies are important agents of pollination and therefore human action like using pesticides, cutting down trees and flowers, and building new communities is more dangerous to the life cycle of these beautiful insects than predators. By the time I was done reading the book, I had learned more than what I had ever known regarding butterflies. I would have this book or at least use it to help children in the classroom study of science and nature in general.