Are You a Butterfly?

Up The Garden Path / Backyard Books

by Judy Allen, Tudor Humphries (Illustrator)

Good: A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (including dust cover, if applicable). The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels.Some of our books may have slightly worn corners, and minor creases to the covers. Please note the cover may sometimes be different to the one shown.

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals, Childrens, Nature, Summer

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Judy Allen is an award-winning author whose novel Awaiting Developments was short-listed for the Whitbread Children's Novel Award.

Judy Allen, along with illustrator Tudor Humphries, created Kingfisher's award-winning Backyard Books series and many other successful books, including the Reading Rainbow selections Tiger and Seal.

Reviews

[Haaley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book about the life cycle of a butterfly from egg to caterpillar and so on.

[Lisa W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I use the metaphor of the Chrysalis phase of the caterpillar's transformation process in my psychotherapy practice to help patients understand that their meltdown experience is often a necessary part of their rebirth process.

Ultimately, if I do my job right, they will eventually come to see that their difficult phase can be newly construed as "I'm not having a breakdown, I'm having a breakthrough!" When people reframe their cognitive distortions, traumatic experiences, existential crises and other challenges they feel better and more hopeful. It works!

So I have been looking for books that illustrate the amazing journey of the Caterpillar-Pupa-Chrysalis-Butterly transformation process.

For Judy Allen's little book:

PROS: Lovely graphics, easy to follow the journey of the caterpillar to butterfly.

CONS: This book omits the critical CHRYSALIS phase, when the imaginal cells liquify the entire body of the caterpillar, causing possibly extreme pain, crisis, fear and more. Scientists still do not know how this process actually works.

Had Allen included the Chrysalis phase of the transformation process this book would have been perfect. Five Stars. Sadly, I give it 3 Stars. Sigh. I'll keep looking!

[Kayla Sharp]

Awards: none
Grade level: K-3
Summary: This story brings you through what your life would be like if you experienced life as a butterfly!
Review: This is an interesting perspective to learn about the life of a butterfly. Children will appreciate being able to envision themselves in the role of caterpillar and butterfly.
In class uses: Story can be used to have children learn about the life cycle of a butterfly. Another activity could be to raise a class caterpillar into a butterfly.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We waited quite awhile for this book to come back in to the library, and once it did, we were almost three weeks past our butterfly unit. Nevertheless, I thought it was a good book and would happily use it again in the future. It tells kids what their lives would be like if they were a butterfly, but also explains that they are not butterflies and will not have to undergo things that caterpillars/butterflies do (eat until their skin splits). How reassuring!

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this one as preparation for a lesson plan for waiting across the curriculum. It is an engaging and fun book with colorful illustrations and excellent information about the butterfly life cycle. It would make an excellent read aloud. It would also be a perfect addition to classroom library shelves and perfect for young readers who are interested in butterflies.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, I enjoyed this one! I thought the second person narrative was very effective, and the way the author compared butterflies to kids was quite a pleasure. A few fun little jokes thrown in made me laugh, which is a nice change in a non-fiction title of this simplicity. Highly recommended.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very informative, but I will always be creeped out by 2nd person narrative about animals.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very interesting, It really explains the life cycle of a butterfly.

[Ammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

New to us series. The girls enjoyed it so much, they immediately re read it to their caterpillars.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 4 out of 5]

nicely done.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another fun book in the Are You a... series of books by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries. We like these books. They offer scientific information, but in a colorful and fun format. Children will like how the books speaks to them and helps to compare a human to the insect described. And the Did You Know... section in the back offers additional facts about the topic. We will certainly look for more books in this series.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book with beautiful illustrations! Judy Allen did a great job of describing the life cycle of a butterfly on a level that a young child could not only understand, but be entertained by. Other books had too much information for my three year old's short attention span, but Are You a Butterfly? kept her happily listening all the way through. I am glad I picked up this book and am planning to look for more books from this series for my daughter.

[Madimeier]

This book would be a good book to read to students for a science lesson. It could teach students the life of a caterpillar and how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. In my elementary, we had pet caterpillars in the classroom and then watched them evolve into a butterfly so this book could be used during this.

[Christopher Skelskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great non fiction book that teaches about the stages of a butterfly in a story type way. The kids enjoy the illustrations and they are able to learn about the different stages of life the butterfly goes through. It makes a connection at the end to them being a kid reading the story.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome book that can be integrated into literacy and science. Shows the life cycle of a caterpillar into a butterfly and at the end has information on butterflies.

[Rahmadiyanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Menarik banget penjelasan tentang kehidupan kupu-kupu. Dan yang paling saya suka, ilustrasinya cakeeepp....

[Kim Foy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a great job of portraying the lifecycle of a butterfy with wonderful illustrations. I also like how it compares a butterfly with a human.

[Rebecca Snodgrass · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are so many things you can do with butterflies. This book is kind of too informational for my liking, but it would be one to have on the shelf for further learning.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful art, with a wonderful way to introduce butterflies to first graders.

[Lauri Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Narrative nonfiction where the reader is a butterfly. Beautiful illustrations. Covers life cycle, types of butterflies, facts at the end.

[Brittney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for 3+ that helps them get the facts in a fun way.

[Joann Park]

science and observation on insects and students

[Conner Klostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fairly good informational piece about butterflies. The book describes some of the characteristics of butterfly, but poses them in a questioning way to make the reader think and understand what a butterfly looks like. I like how well the pictures coincide with the text and help the readers paint a complete picture.