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Bird, Butterfly, Eel
Change is all around us.
From the first buds of springtime to the first autumn frost, nature shows us that change is all around us and that the world has its own way of beginning anew.
Bird, Butterfly, and Eel spend their summers on the same coastal farm, but in the fall they go to very distant and different places. Their journeys to the far reaches of land and sea make them remarkable creatures. James Prosek uses their stories and his own sun-kissed paintings to introduce young readers to the basic elements of bird, fish, and insect migration.
From the first buds of springtime to the first autumn frost, nature shows us that change is all around us and that the world has its own way of beginning anew.
Bird, Butterfly, and Eel spend their summers on the same coastal farm, but in the fall they go to very distant and different places. Their journeys to the far reaches of land and sea make them remarkable creatures. James Prosek uses their stories and his own sun-kissed paintings to introduce young readers to the basic elements of bird, fish, and insect migration.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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51 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
July 16, 2020
This is a beautifully illustrated story of a swallow and Monarch butterfly and an eel who live in harmony on a farm, and then each migrate in the fall. There are notes in the back that explain more about their migration paths and patterns. I did not know that eels migrate!
January 22, 2022
Sometimes our favorite books don't make it to the Goodreads shelf. I used this book every year with my nonfiction text structures unit for compare/contrast. It's also the book that taught me about eels!
January 20, 2018
Excellent for Life Science. Full circle life cycles of the three in the title. Beautiful illustrations.
October 2, 2019
A beautiful children's book, but yet doesn't "dumb down" the biology.
June 4, 2021
Sort of a random set of animals, but I liked the pictures and story. It's about migration.
February 26, 2023
Such a beautiful book. Includes a section in the back that gives additional information on these three specific migrations.
February 26, 2017
My newborn (4 months) found this book riveting. She followed the illustrations and was pointing to the images and was turning the pages to see what was next. I was surprised to see her so fascinated. I thought the illustrations were stunning and it was fun to read through the book with her and follow the three animals featured throughout the book.
July 8, 2009
This picture book profiles three species (monarch butterfly, barn swallow, and American eel). Each animal is shown on a New York farm in the summer, and their separate migrations over the winter are detailed: the butterfly's trip to Mexico, the swallow's journey to Argentina, the eel's swim to the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic. And of course of the return of the swallow and the subsequent generation(s) of monarchs and eels. A "Real Facts" (are there 'unreal' facts?) section in the back gives more information on the species' life cycles. Very nicely done overall. I do have a quibble about the map of the migrations, though--the extremely distorted perspective makes Long Island look twice as big as the entire continent of South America. I thought only New Yorker cover artists got away with this.
June 19, 2009
This is a really lovely book about the lives and migration of these three creatures...I have to admit, I have serious willies when it comes to eels and just looking at the pictures of the eels creeped me out, but that's just my silliness and I wouldn't let it detract from the book or my review...those who didn't know about the eels trek to the Sargasso seas (so mysterious and I knew already as I need to study up on all things that alarm, right?) will appreciate the very decent info pages at the back of the book. The art also immensely appealing, there is a real amateur naturalist feel to it as if given access to someone's personal field notes.
November 5, 2009
This story takes place during the summer time. It's about three animals migrating. The animals are the eel, the bird and the butterfly. The animals continue to have their own lifestyle from early spring to summer and then into the fall. When the season changes and it turns to cold they would have to leave the farm and go south. As the animals take their journey they begin to meet other creatures. This is a great book for young children learning about migration. After reading this story, I didn't know that eels migrated too. In addition, I liked that in the back of the book it gives more information on the species life cycles.
April 12, 2016
When it comes to books about migration, you can't do much better than this one. I've used this a couple of times over the years, and it's always gone over well with my students. I think the thing that consistently catches them off guard is the inclusion of the eel in the book. Number one, most of them don't realize that eels live in freshwater. Number two, most of them are completely blown away by the fact that they migrate there from the ocean. The end notes in this book are equally impressive. The include detail that the book couldn't possibly have incorporated otherwise. This book is a real find in the migration category, but overall it's a well done book. Give it a read.
July 10, 2014
This round-robin story about the different kinds of migrations of these three animals will make a good introduction to how migration works. The reader is taken through a year, showing the life, the journey, and the return. Back matter adds useful information, and Prosek’s beautiful paintings add detail to his brief words. The winter picture is especially lovely, for a cat enters the story on occasion and this picture of the indoor time shows the cat missing out-of-doors adventures watching the bird, the butterfly, and eel, like we all do in winter.
March 14, 2009
The story like feel of this book is broken in the middle by a page with a map and an explanation of the animals destinations, which somehow feels out of place.
Otherwise this is lovely with wonderful naturalistic illustrations that reminiscent of those of Jim Arnosky. And the rest of the text works beautifully. Worth trying with less squirmy preschoolers and excellent for early elementary aged students.
Otherwise this is lovely with wonderful naturalistic illustrations that reminiscent of those of Jim Arnosky. And the rest of the text works beautifully. Worth trying with less squirmy preschoolers and excellent for early elementary aged students.
March 1, 2010
Bird, Butterfly and Eel all migrate from the same farm to vastly different places, but they all end up (or their progeny do) back at the farm. This slight story, beautifully illustrated by the author, helps explain the mysteries of animal migration to young children. It is classified as fiction, but could as easily be non-fiction. Very well done.
October 22, 2013
I think this book had very good design and the bright colors were very entertaining to look at. I liked the whole moral idea of this story which I feel like dealt with changes in the lives of separate beings. We as humans can relate to this because every single day, each minute, something is changing. So this book to me is very memorable although a smaller book.
August 2, 2013
This picture book is a classic -- an amazing look at the migration of three different species in a very child-friendly, appealing way. I love how this book blends nonfiction (science, nature) with storytelling and beautiful art. My daughter loves to re-read this one.
October 16, 2013
The paintings in this book are amazing. They show great detail and I like how children can learn that in the spring everything can be on one farm. But then it tells how in the fall that they all travel in different directions to escape the cold winters.
October 12, 2015
Beautiful treatment of 3 animals that migrate. Includes a map that shows the three journeys, plus back matter. Although CIP states it is fiction, it is really narrative nonfiction, and I have shelved this in the 591 section with other migration books.
March 13, 2009
Pretty illustrations talks about the weather changing and a little on life cycles and migration. Nice connection. Grades K+
April 21, 2009
A story of three different animals and their migration for the summer. Map and nonfiction facts included at the end of the story. A little disjointed.
Want to read
May 15, 2009Ages 6 to 10
May 23, 2009
Beautiful!
June 5, 2009
Eel lives in the dark, cool waters of the pond, below the lilies.
December 10, 2009
"migration, animals"
August 17, 2010
Beautifully illustrated. What a simple book for migration. I liked how the three were linked. It sparked good conversation with my kids.
October 6, 2012
Follows a bird, a monarch butterfly, and an eel from summer on a farm until they make their respective fall voyages south, and then later begin to return north again when the weather warms.
August 10, 2013
A lovely picture book following the migration of a monarch butterfly, barn swallow and eel. I thought the map was especially helpful and a nice touch.
August 15, 2014
Great little story about the life cycle of three animals in a meadow - a bird, butterfly, and eel; their migrations and returns.
November 9, 2015
Living book
September 23, 2016
Beautiful artwork, great info and nice connection between the three.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews