Chance and the Butterfly

by Maggie de Vries

Every time Chance turns around, he gets in trouble. In school, he can't sit still. Reading is hard and math is harder, but anything to do with science fascinates him. When his class starts raising butterflies from caterpillars, Chance is hooked. School is suddenly fun again, but when he decides to take his caterpillar home, he learns that loving something often means letting it go.

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2002

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chance is living in a new foster home, and even though he tries really hard, he always seems to be in trouble both at home and at school. When his class starts studying caterpillars and butterflies, however, Chance is fascinated and things seem to start turning around for him. Unfortunately, his impetuous impulses may get him in even more trouble despite his good intentions.

An Orca Young Readers book. A good suggestion for an (older) elementary school reluctant reader. A middle school student will be put off by the younger age of the character even though the plot and reading level would be appropriate for a struggling reader in 6th-8th grade.

[Cynthia Heinrichs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. De Vries does a fabulous job of getting into Chance's head. Her descriptions of how Chance thinks and reacts to what is happening to him gave me such a vivid sense of how this boy views his world and also how isolated he is and how admirable. He is a survivor who doesn't feel sorry for himself. I think that the next time I encounter someone who is struggling I may be more patient with them as a result of reading about Chance. A great story to read in the classroom.