Starred review from April 25, 2011
This companion to An Egg Is Quiet and A Seed Is Sleepy is as delicate, elegant, and informative as its predecessors. Under headings that echo the book's title ("A butterfly is helpful," "A butterfly is poisonous"), Aston explores the development, habits, migration, and attributes of one of nature's flashier, yet familiar creations. Long's watercolors are precise but enchanting as ever, especially in the "A butterfly is spectacular!" spread, which shows the colorful diversity of more than a dozen specimens, and in another devoted to the migration of monarch butterflies, seen swarming over a quiet desert. A lovely mix of science and wonder. Ages 5â8.