Make Way for Butterfly - Perfect Picture Book Friday

New authors sometimes ask “What is this thing called ‘a character-driven story?” Today, I’m offering up a stellar example, from the author/illustrator, Ross Burach. He’s created a handful of butterfly books based on one very impatient caterpillar that turned into a very impatient butterfly. MAKE WAY FOR BUTTERFLY is a companion to that first title, THE VERY IMPATIENT CATERPILLAR.

In a character-driven story, the things that happen are a direct result of the main character’s personality. Here the main character is Butterfly. In Burach’s first book featuring this character, we encountered a caterpillar who can’t wait to turn into a butterfly. All of the jokes are based on the caterpillar’s super-charged impatience. So much like a child, yes? (and some of us with ADHD) But it’s not just about the humor. That book also teaches children about metamorphosis in a way that brings laughs at each page turn.

Similarly, in this follow-up book, when an impatient butterfly interrupts a bee at work, we get laughs and a hilarious story about how bees pollinate and why pollination is important.

And the hilarity is all because this impatient butterfly wants to be A VERY IMPORTANT POLLINATOR, just like the bee.

The facial expression of Butterfly, the colors, and the selected fonts scream impatience. Even though Bee reassures Butterfly that it already IS a very important pollinator, Butterfly wants to do it in exactly the same way as Bee, which leads to frustration and artificial (hilarious) attempts to pollinate like Bee. In the end, Butterfly discovers that it can help the ecosystem in ways that bees can’t. But is Butterfly content with that? Well, yes……and no.

If you read the marketing copy on the back jacket flap, you’ll see why Scholastic publishes this series. It not only has the strong humor hook, it also touches on “emotional themes in the lives of young children, such as patience, persistence, and mindfulness, while also incorporating curriculum-friendly science topics.” So three BIG hooks for what will become a highly commercial, yet educational book. Authors take note.

Activities:

Pair this book with Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohrmann. Both are about pollination, but approach the topic very differently. Compare and contrast the differences.

Watch this Science Kids video about butterfly pollinators.

Use this plant pollinator guide to discover the best plants to attract butterflies in your area.

Find activity kits and print-and-color bookmarks on Burach’s website.