Farfallina & Marcel

by Holly Keller

Once there was a caterpillar named Farfallina, whose best friend was a gosling named Marcel. They did everything together -- until one day, everything started to change.

This beautiful and touching story shows that even as life takes different turns, friendship endures.

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Storytime, Birds

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Bridgetdoxtater · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really precious, but I'm biased toward it . . .

When my husband proposed to me, he wrote his marriage proposal in the back of a copy of Farfallina and Marcel that he presented to me. (It was a time of great change for us because he was moving about 3 hours away and I didn't know what was going to become of us. The book was a great summation of how we felt about each other, and reassured me that we would always be together.)

Anyway, this is a children's book and it is a beautiful story about true friendship surviving even the most significant of life's changes, and the joy of rediscovering a true friend. I highly recommend it!

[Sunday · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keller reveals the reality of impermanence--things change even though we may not have planned for change. And yet, some things, like friendship --while they may look different also have a sense of endurance.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful tale about metamorphosis and friendship. A caterpillar and a gosling become friends and play together every day until it's time for the caterpillar to create her chrysalis.

Once she emerges as a butterfly, she sees the mature goose on the pond, but doesn't realize that he's Marcel. It's a fun tale and our girls loved it. It teaches a little bit about science, but in an unobtrusive way.

[Candice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book charmed my socks off! It is such a lovely story of friendship, so preciously written and sweetly illustrated. Farfallina is a caterpillar and Marcel a gosling when they meet. They spend idyllic days together until Farfallina needs to rest and Marcel waits so long that he fears she is not coming back. But Marcel is going through some changes, too.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another tale of mismatched friendship - this time between a caterpillar and a goose. They love each other, but the caterpillar goes off one day and the goose is very hurt his friend never came back. Of course she does eventually come back, as a butterfly.

Okay illustrations.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice, but the theme has been done before, and better. I totally respect the 5-star opinions, but I personally wasn't quite as charmed. That's all.

[Kathleen Vincent]

Farfallina, a small pink caterpillar, and Marcel, a young goose meet one day when Farfallina begins eating Marcel's leaf "umbrella" and from that encounter, they create an unlikely friendship. They are considerate of each other, Farfallina not hiding in places where Marcel can't reach and Marcel not moving too quickly for Farfallina to keep up. This continues until one day Farfallina feels strange and needs to rest up in a tree and Marcel promises to wait for her. What she and Marcel don't know is about to happen is her transformation into a butterfly. Marcel is unable to continue to wait for Farfallina and leaves to undergo his own transformation. Time passes by until one day, they cross paths again and reconnect with their friend, realizing that time can pass and change can happen, but their friendship remains.

This is a favorite springtime book in first grade. We use this to not only identify character traits and the evidence that supports those, whether through character action or dialogue, but to also make the nonfiction connection to the lifecycle of a butterfly.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brave picture book Holly Keller to introduce such a tender topic to kids from toddler age up. Friendships do end. That's life on Earth.

In my view, the question becomes, how will we choose to understand when a friendship ends? And that's a really big question.

It makes sense that, for very young readers, the solution would be that Farfallina and Marcel can just go back to being friends, as if the friendship had simply been interrupted.

In reality, even if it were a marriage -- unlikely between a caterpillar and a baby goose -- it might serve the two people to gracefully and respectfully move on.

I'll rate this story with FIVE STARS because of Holly Keller's lushly beautiful illustrations, and also the courageous attempt to tackle such a nuanced problem as a friendship's ups and downs.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from being a sweet book about friendship that would be fun to read to a class, I might specifically want to use this book in the spring or in science. The book is about a gosling and a caterpillar that are friends and enjoy playing together. One day the caterpillar says she needs to go up and rest. After many weeks of waiting, the caterpillar emerges as a butterfly. She doesn't recognize her friend because he is now a full-grown goose and he doesn't recognize her because of her change. But eventually, they talk and are thrilled to find their friends again. This could be great for looking at the life cycle and how so many spring animals change and grow in such a short time. One book, so many great uses.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a goose and caterpillar who become friends, but the goose doesn't know that the caterpillar will become a butterfly. When Farfallina emerges from her cocoon, Marcel has grown, and neither one recognizes the other. But they start to engage in similar ways, and then they realize who the other is.

A little confused as to the audience of the author's note. It uses language that wouldn't be right for the audience of the book, but older audiences probably wouldn't need the life cycle of a butterfly explainer.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gosling and a caterpillar are friends. One day, the caterpillar goes away to rest and doesn't come back. The gosling waits and waits. The gosling grows into a goose while waiting. One day, a butterfly appears. The butterfly and the goose discover that they know each other. They're friends, despite their different appearances.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my absolute favorite children's book. I remember picking it up in a store and reading thru it. I was pretty pregnant at the time and I remember crying as I read the ending. I loved how their friendship endured and they were able to start up right where they left off.

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The preschoolers figured out why Farfallina disappeared. And they were really proud of themselves for figuring out that the animals were just changing and were still the same creatures. One of them even said, "I wish we could go into the book and tell them." Made for a great read-aloud experience!

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Farfallina and Marcel
By Holly Keller
A story of misconceptions after a change. But even changes can not stop true friends. The book is a social emotional learning text to help children understand they will change and their friends will too. Yet they can still accept one another.

[Em Mirra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pending.

[معصومه توکلی · Rating 4 out of 5]

عنوان ترجمه ی فارسی: پروانه تو را می شناسم

[Debra Golden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This charming picture book is a sweet story of friendship, waiting, and life changes.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet book about growing up, changing and lasting friendship. We really enjoyed this cute little book.

[Jordan Mingus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I love how it talks about how even when someone changes over time, they can still reconnect with their friend from before. It is just a really cute story and I loved it.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweet story about how we can be friends with people even after there are some big changes.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book completely enthralled the intended audience. You could have heard a pin drop. The other reviews are lovely, so I won't add another.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

maybe for a butterfly storytime?

[Jodi Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a beautiful, delightful tale of growth, change and best friends. .

[Ruth Garcilazo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fiction story is about Farfallina who is a caterpillar who became best friend with a young goose named Marcel. This book I believe would be for K-2 grade. I like this book because it has the lesson for children that no matter what changes you never have to lose a friend.

[Maritza Mejia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nature, science, metamorphosis, and friendship, all in one in a delightful picture book.
The story begins when Farfallina, the caterpillar, and Marcel, the gosling, become friends and play together daily. One day the caterpillar disappears from the gosling eyes, it was time to create her chrysalis. Once she emerges as a butterfly, she sees the mature goose on the pond, but doesn't realize that he's Marcel.
The butterfly and goose became good friends. At the end of the story they realized what had happen to them.
I recommend this book for its deep message, preciously written, and sweetly illustrated tale.

[Amy:) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story of friendship and aging.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a special way to teach children about growing up! A worm and a gosling become friends and they spend all day together doing things together and just having fun. They each do things that they know the other can do (Like the worm won't climb high 'cause she knows the goose can't got that high to find her. The goose will let her get on his back and they swim on the lake.) Then one day Farfallina tells Marcel she needs to climb up and rest for a while that she wasn't mad or angry just needed to do that. So Marcel watches and waits, and waits and waits. And while he waits he sees his own reflection in the river he is changing and growing up. He misses his friend very much and often wonders what happened with her. Then one day he continually sees a butterfly flying around their lake and they decide to talk. They start talking and become friends and they feel like they've known one another and sure enough they realize it's their long lost friends just grown up. So they find things they enjoy together again and decide to fly south for the winter together. Very special book

[Relyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of our family's favorite books. There is a book reviewer on NPR who sometimes reviews childrens' books. He never misses. Anyway, we love this book. It's so sweet. This time I used it as a read aloud on Butterfly Day during our second grade Lifecycles week.

5/11/15
I have no idea why I haven't read this book to my students in a while. It is a hit every. single. time! I remembered it this time because after we released our butterflies this year, one of my students said, "I wonder what the butterflies are thinking right now." I brought the book to school the next morning and we talked about how what we wonder about in real life can be turned into a great fiction book if we just change our point of view. Then, we used Gavin's comment and this book as an example. It was a terrific lesson!

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Created from the Italian word “farfallina” meaning butterfly, Farfallina and Marcel is a wonderful story of undying friendship, despite the life changes one faces. Holly Keller explores changes in nature with the life cycle of a butterfly and the physical changes from gosling to goose. Keller’s use of watercolor creates a serene setting that distinguishes the characters moods through light and dark. Farfallina and Marcel would be a great read-aloud for primary grades to accompany any science unit on life cycles. Children would be able to make predictions regarding Farfallina’s changes and whether her and Marcel will maintain their friendship.

[Salsabrarian]

Farfallina (Italian for butterfly) is a caterpillar. Marcel is a gosling. They meet and feel a kindredship and enjoy the spring together, playing hide-and-seek and sailing on the lake. One day Farfallina doesn't feel right and hides up in a tree. Marcel promises to wait for her but after weeks of not seeing her, gives up. When Farfallina emerges as a butterfly she goes off in search of Marcel but only finds a goose swimming in the lake. Eventually both realize they have reunited and the friends fly south for the winter.