Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. For a slightly younger audience than her previous garden titles My Backyard Garden (1998) and My Indoor Garden (1999), this picture book uses Lerner's winning combination of beautiful, precise, pen-and-watercolor illustrations and simple, clear explanations of science. The engaging text describes how butterflies eat, introduces distinguishing characteristics of a few species, gives a basic overview of the life cycle from caterpillar to butterfly, and describes plants that attract butterflies to the garden. Each spread is dominated by gloriously colored illustrations, all clearly labeled for easy identification. The text presupposes that children are familiar with terms such as transplanting and will know what to do with seeds, but kids who can't seem to get enough about butterflies, including a few children without access to a garden, will surely find something of interest. Handsome endpapers showcase a variety of species. Gillian Engberg.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Both books are well-documented resources for identifying butterflies and the plants that attract them. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Primary) Lerner presents an attractive manual for increasing the variety and quantity of butterflies in a garden. Initial pages picture clearly labeled flowers that entice butterflies, and the text gives readers easy steps for making these nectar-producing plants part of a home garden. On each of these pages, handsomely drawn butterflies alight on the blossoms, inviting readers to see the species they could attract. Each of the butterflies is identified only on the endpapers and on the verso (with alluring names like Question Mark, Milbert's Tortoise Shell, Dogface, and Mourning Cloak), and readers will certainly flit from endpaper to book pages to match these striking creatures with their proper names. Lerner explains in clear language that some butterflies use flowering plants as a place to lay their eggs as well as a place to get nourishment, and the second half of the book identifies these plants. A series of drawings paired with text give an elementary explanation of the metamorphosis from egg to caterpillar to butterfly. Lerner's concluding ""Good luck with your butterfly garden!"" is justified; readers will feel ready to begin the process of introducing nature's colorful beauties to their own backyards. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The relationship between butterflies and the gardens that provide their food and habitat is the focus for this informative work by Lerner (On the Wing: American Birds in Migration, 2001, etc.). She introduces common families of butterflies, showing examples in flight against brightly colored flowers, vegetables, and even weeds that attract butterflies (or caterpillars). An author's note identifies the specific kinds of butterflies illustrated throughout the text, and attractive endpapers identify many more additional varieties. Her carefully researched paintings show all the tiny patterns of the butterfly wings in exquisite detail, and her flowers are beautifully portrayed against pale blue backgrounds with the flowers labeled unobtrusively, providing information without destroying the artistic integrity of the illustrations. Diagrams are integrated into the illustrations to show the inside of flowers, butterfly anatomy, and the life cycle of the butterfly. Ways to attract the lovely creatures to the garden are also included, with suggested plants and projects. The discussion of the butterfly life cycle falls rather awkwardly at the end of the work (after eggs and caterpillars have already been mentioned in other contexts), which could be confusing to children not already familiar with the correct progression of life stages. However, this work will find a ready audience for science lessons and school reports; recommended for the science shelves of larger school and public libraries as well as home libraries. (Nonfiction. 5-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
