Butterfly House

by Eve Bunting, Greg Shed (Illustrator)

With the help of her grandfather, a little girl makes a house for a larva and watches it develop before setting it free, and every summer after that butterflies come to visit her. By the author of Smoky Night.

Genres: Picture Books, Nature, Childrens, Science, Animals, School, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

Also known as Evelyn Bolton and A.E. Bunting.

Anne Evelyn Bunting, better known as Eve Bunting, is an author with more than 250 books. Her books are diverse in age groups, from picture books to chapter books, and topic, ranging from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. Eve Bunting has won several awards for her works.

Bunting went to school in Ireland and grew up with storytelling. In Ireland, “There used to be Shanachies… the shanachie was a storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of ghosts and fairies, of old Irish heroes and battles still to be won. Maybe I’m a bit of a Shanchie myself, telling stories to anyone who will listen.” This storytelling began as an inspiration for Bunting and continues with her work.

In 1958, Bunting moved to the United States with her husband and three children. A few years later, Bunting enrolled in a community college writing course. She felt the desire to write about her heritage. Bunting has taught writing classes at UCLA. She now lives in Pasadena, California.

Reviews

[Julianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for THC Reviews
Butterfly House is a gentle children’s story of a young girl who rescues a caterpillar from a hungry jay. With her grandfather’s help, they build a home for the little insect to keep it safe, and then watch as it encases itself in a cocoon and later emerges as a beautiful butterfly. Much later in life, when the girl has become an old woman, the butterflies still come to visit her garden, bringing her joy. The last page of the book includes detailed information on how to raise your own butterfly.

This is a sweet story that teaches children the importance of caring for all living creatures. As a new grandparent, I also enjoyed how the girl worked with and learned from her grandfather and the emphasis that’s placed on this family interaction. The illustrations are lovely and compliment the story nicely. The main reason I dropped a star on the rating is that, although I love butterflies (or perhaps because I do), I didn’t find the story quite as engaging as I’d hoped. For the most part, it felt like a step-by-step instruction manual on raising a butterfly from a caterpillar. If this is something you want to do, then it would be a great reference. However, I think I was expecting a little more information on the butterfly itself and how it develops. Still, it was a very gentle, pleasant story that I’m sure kids who like butterflies or insects would probably enjoy.

[Courtney Angelo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was an interesting way to approach a children's book. First, the sentence structure was different, which may or may not cause confusion for a child trying to construct his or her own sentences. I like that the book was a story, but taught the life cycle of a butterfly. It was very informational for any age. It also focused on the circle of life; not just within a butterfly, but within humans too. A child and her grandpa raised a butterfly together, and years later when she was a grandpa, the butterfly had brought her happiness and fortune.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the story of the life cycle of a butterfly (and a little girl who becomes a grandma). It's a beautiful story with nice, muted illustrations but the text is long and involved and told in first person. It makes a nice one-on-one read, but not great for storytime.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the PERFECT book to use with those butterfly habitats that hatch painted lady butterflies. WONDERFUL BOOK!

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and beautifully illustrated story about the time a young girl and her grandfather built a butterfly house together.

[Katie Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a little girl protects a caterpillar from getting eaten by a bird she brings it home to her grandpa. Her grandpa tells her that the caterpillar will soon turn into a butterfly. Together they build a colorful cage and name the caterpillar "Painted-lady". This story is about a little girl's love for butterflies and most importantly, her love for her grandfather. We learn that even though butterflies might fly away, our love for our family will never fly away. I would recommend this beautiful book to children who are in K-3.

[Suzanne Marble · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter picked this up at the library. I haven't been reviewing lately, but my daughter reads a new book everynight. This was last night's book and it was very well written. It was sweet and showed a child bonding with a grandparent. It ended very sweetly with butterflies all over this womans house and she recalls something from her childhood. The pictures were very well drawn and it is perfectly tailored to any age. Adults and children alike will adore this book.

[Carolyn Vandine West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story of a little girl whose grandfather who shows her how to nurture a butterfly larva through its growing stage. I have a wonderful friend who does the same.
She has all the plants in her garden to support the monarch s as they make their journey to Mexico each year.
A great book to teach young children about the circle of life. Beautiful pictures as well

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young girl and her grandfather save a caterpillar from becoming a blue jay's lunch. They put it in a beautiful box and watch it grow until it becomes a butterfly. Later when the girl grows up, butterflies still visit her house, and she imagines that they are descendants of the butterfly she saved long ago.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written story of a little girl and her grandpa raising a larva into a butterfly. In the end the 'little girl' is an older woman and her garden is full of butterflies. She believes it's because they all know she will take care of them as she did their great great grandma years before.

[MotherofReaders · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the story of a child raising a butterfly (a pretty saturated children’s book topic). It was a sweet story, but it didn’t stand out. This book would pair well with a butterfly life cycle unit.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I did not expect the second half of the book to be about what it was about, but I loved it. I definitely would use this for discussing change/growing up. Reminded me of my relationships with my grandparents.

[Ana LibrariAna · Rating 4 out of 5]

With colorful, yet gentle illustrations and lyrical narrative, this book celebrates love for animals, curiosity, and wonders of nature.

[Donna Mork · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story about a young girl and her grandfather raising a caterpillar into a butterfly. Years later she is as old as her grandfather and still loving the butterflies.

[Molly Rhymer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Realistic Fiction. A young girl builds a house for a larva with her grandfather and watches as it fully develops into a butterfly. They set it free, but it comes back later to return her kindness.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A creative and sweet way to introduce change over time, family relationships, and that the world will be kind to us if we are kind to it.

[Thomasin Propson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very lovely (visually and emotionally and literarily)! I was reminded of the mole and the bird book… what was it called? Hmmm…

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations! This book would be a good introduction to a child on the life cycle of butterflies. ( Although there is no mention of the egg. )

[Janine Kunz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated. A grandfather and granddaughter observe the butterfly lifecycle and plant flowers to attract butterflies. 4-8 yo.

[Ashley Moser · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very okay story. Good to teach life cycle of a butterfly that also ties in to the MC’s life.

[Liza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being stabbed would’ve hurt less than reading this today, crying

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story about a girl and her grandfather growing a butterfly. Illustrations are superb, and there's a guide on rearing butterflies at the end.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

After rescuing a larva from certain death, a young girl creates a safe habitat inside so that she can watch it grow. With the help of her grandfather, she puts it in a jar in a box and adds food and decorations so that it is surrounded by beauty as it grows. Since she has an up close perspective on how it is changing, she is able to watch its metamorphosis into a butterfly. Naturally, it is hard for her to release it back into nature, but she knows that she must do so. The years pass, and the girl becomes a woman whose garden is always filled with butterflies of the same kind that she once befriended. Could it be that they are the offspring of that first butterfly? Not only does this picture book contain wonderfully descriptive language ["I made a curve of rainbow / like a hug / to keep her safe" (unpaged) and "She was a butterfly, / all spotted, orange, black, and brown / as if someone had shaken paints / and let the drops fall down" (unpaged)], but it also provides directions for how to raise a butterfly. Of course, the book would be perfect for anyone teaching a science lesson on the life cycle of the butterfly and anyone interested in intergenerational stories. The text is simply eloquent and almost magical--there are no other words that do it justice--and the illustrations, created in gouache, are incredibly impressive for their colors and softness. The love the narrator has for this butterfly and the affection shared between a grandfather and a granddaughter fills the pages.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is for the slightly older crowd I think, with the text being more than just simple rhyming. This is the story of a little girl and her Grandfather. The little girl makes a home for a buttefly and adds a Painted Lady to the home. The relationship between Garndfather and Granddaughter is a special one and that fact is shown throughout the story. After the Painted Lady is released the years pass and pass and the end of the story shows the little girl, as an older woman standing in her garden among Painted Lady's.
I think the text is a little advanced for the age group, even for older toddlers. Maybe it's not so much the actual text but the way the text is put forth.
I adored the illustrations while Julia wasn't overly impressed. I also liked the "How to Raise a Butterfly" at the end of the book. The only thing I did not like was the fact that now Julia is a butterfly hunter and we have a half finished shoebox/butterfly home in our kitchen. :)

[Kim Tyo-Dickerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soft, lyrical story about a girl and her grandfather creating a butterfly house for a little caterpillar she saves from a hungry blue jay in her grandfather's garden. The sweet friendship between the girl and her grandfather is described through spare prose and accentuated beautifully by the full page watercolor illustrations of them creating a little home for the caterpillar so that it can eat, create a chrysalis and ultimately turn into a magnificent Painted Lady butterfly that they release together, not without a few tears. What makes this book even more of a treasure is that the little girl grows up, and the butterflies fill her garden as if they remember, in a CHARLOTTE's WEB way, that once upon a time a little girl nurtured and cared for their great-great-great-grandmother butterfly. Also a moving read alike for MISS RUMPHIUS, another welcome celebration of family, kindness to all creatures, and making the world a more beautiful place.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to use with your students. One could use this book to teach students comprehension strategies. Specifically the students could visualize the setting and even complete a recording sheet noting the things that they saw, heard, smelt, felt, and maybe even tasted (all mentally of course). You could also read this as an introduction to studying the life cycle of a butterfly. In my placement we read this story to the students before learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. The class ordered butterfly larva and are going to watch the stages of the butterfly happen right in their own classroom, and will release the butterflies after they have reached their final stage.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all time favorite books!

I read this to my elementary school classes every year when Spring comes, and we study the life cycle of the butterfly. They love the gorgeous illustrations and are soon asking me to read the story again and again!

Eve Bunting is a master at weaving a story. The children feel connected to the main character and always talk about raising their own butterflies. They feel the same pain/joy that the character in the story does. Simply said, I love this book!

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of similes and metaphors in this story about how a girl saved a caterpillar and kept it until it became a butterfly, told in verse. Shows a very sweet and touching relationship between a grandfather and a young girl as well. I'd recommend this to elementary teachers who want to teach poetic devices with a sweet narrative poem, or to a parent (or grandparent)to share with a child.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one is a nice story about a girl and her grandpa providing a house for a caterpillar and watching it grow into a butterfly. Illustrations were a little too serious I think for my rough and tumble 4 yr old boy, but the story was interesting to him since they had done the same thing in their preschool.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite possible the best picture book I have read all year. Simply beautiful...it reminded me so much of my Grandmama. This book would be a wonderful addition to any library or reading classroom.

As a side note.. the book also does a wonderful job of discussing the life cycle of a butterfly and is perfect for a science class.