Saving the butterfly

Helen Cooper, 1963-

Book - 2022

"When the rescuers meet the boat, there are only two people left: a little one and a bigger one. The bigger one remembers the uncertainty of the trip across the ocean, but the little one has stopped thinking about all that. Can the little one and a very special butterfly help the big one move forward?"--

Saved in:

Children's Room Show me where

jE/Cooper
0 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room jE/Cooper Due Apr 4, 2024
Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Studio, an imprint of Candlewick Press 2022.
Language
English
Main Author
Helen Cooper, 1963- (author)
Other Authors
Gill (Illustrator) Smith (illustrator)
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 28 cm
Audience
4-8 years.
Grades preschool-3.
ISBN
9781536220551
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Two siblings are rescued from the dark sea and taken to live in a run-down shack in a refugee camp. The younger, a boy, bounces back quickly and makes friends, while his sister becomes a prisoner of her memories, which prevent her from leaving their hut. The boy brings his sister a butterfly, hoping it will cheer her, and somehow the butterfly seems to understand its role in her recovery. The insect lands on her hand, and the girl must walk outside to free it. Smith's mixed-media illustrations convey the story's many moods and motifs through color: inky blacks for the sea rescue; drab pastels for the camp; sunny yellows when the boy brings his sister the butterfly; and intense reds and oranges on the butterfly's wings. The siblings' only possession, a knitted afghan, serves as a security blanket for them throughout, and brightens visibly when the girl begins emerging from her depression. With a hopeful ending, this exploration of trauma and its aftereffects should open up discussion and encourage empathy.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

With "nothing left from before,/ except each other," two siblings, portrayed with golden skin, journey on a boat in which they are the only ones left: "They could have died./ The bigger one thought they wouldn't survive," writes Cooper in plainspoken text. When they are rescued by "kind hands carrying them to land," they are also taken to a "broken house" in what appears to be a refugee camp. Though the younger brother seems to recover quickly from their unspecified ordeal, remembering little about "the time before," his sister struggles to move on ("The bigger one couldn't forget./ She felt she shouldn't forget"), and retreats into the broken house, "feeling safer there,/ in the real dark,/ hiding from the dark/ in her mind." Hoping to cheer her, the brother brings home a butterfly in a jar--which, when released, also needs space and time to find its way outside. Smith's moody mixed-media illustrations smartly use color to convey the story's tone, moving between shadowy and vividly hued images that mimic the sister's emotional arc in a hopeful story about emotional processing after trauma. Ages 4--8. (June)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review

This affecting and emotional picture book about displacement, tragedy, grief, and hope begins with a dramatic rescue, as two young children arrive by boat to a foreign shore: "There were two of them left in the boat...Brother and sister, lost in the dark sea. They could have died. The bigger one thought they wouldn't survive." The children are housed in what appears to be a refugee camp and their physical needs met; soon, the younger brother makes friends playing outside, and he "hardly ever thought about the time before." The older sister, though, stays inside and apart from others, consumed by her memories and trauma (unspecified) and the responsibility of bearing witness to the past. "She felt she shouldn't forget." Attempting to bring some cheer into their "broken home," the boy catches a butterfly and presents it to his sister. She tries to release it, but it won't depart; eventually, in order to guide the creature, she steps out onto the porch. As the butterfly flies off, the girl, now experiencing the beauty in the light and warmth that surround her, tentatively rejoins the world. Gorgeously evocative and textured mixed-media illustrations are predominantly gray at the beginning and incorporate more and more bright colors as the children respond positively to their environment. Although the shadows are not gone, the girl's self-isolation and profound loneliness have begun to dissipate, following those first steps she's taken toward healing. Elissa Gershowitz May/June 2022 p.117(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Two young siblings survive a perilous journey across the sea and start a new life in a new country. The only remaining survivors on a refugee boat, the young boy and his older sister are rescued and taken to "a broken house." Each sibling experiences the aftermath of their journey differently. While the younger one embraces his new reality and ventures outside to explore and make friends, his sister is more hesitant; unsure of the future, she stays indoors, traumatized by memories and "hiding from the dark in her mind." Confused as to why his sister won't come out to play, the boy brings her a butterfly that ultimately shows both siblings that healing requires patience and time. The idea that sometimes we can feel many complicated emotions all at once comes through loud and clear. The mixed-media illustrations use dark hues to convey the girl's feelings of isolation, loss, and uncertainty and vivid colors to depict moments of hope and courage. While the story never reveals the exact circumstances surrounding the children's displacement, the lyrical text gently captures their yearning for safety and their togetherness. The protagonists and other children at the refugee shelter have light brown skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A layered story that humanizes the refugee experience. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.