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Most children are thoroughly familiar with the classic Eric Carle book The Hungry Little Caterpillar<\/em>, and while that book does a great job of introducing them to the various stages of a butterfly’s life, there are so many more interesting facts that are part of a butterfly’s life cycle story.\u00a0\u00a0The book It’s a Butterfly’s Life<\/a>, written and illustrated by Irene Kelly<\/a>, is chock full of amazing details and lovely illustrations.\u00a0 There are about 17,500 different types of butterflies and 160,000 types of moths in the world, and Kelly uses her illustrations to help children understand the differences between the two insects.\u00a0 Something that most people do not know is that a butterfly’s taste buds are located in their feet:\u00a0 “You might not be able to taste a cupcake by standing on it, but a butterfly can!”\u00a0 Other fun features of the book include a close up look at the scales on the wings,\u00a0the buttterfly’s proboscis\u00a0rendered in close-up detail,\u00a0an explanation of the migratory feats of the mighty monarchs, and the ways butterflies use camoflague to scare off predators.<\/p>\n The most remarkable part of a butterfly’s story is of course\u00a0its transformative metamorphosis.\u00a0 Kelly helps put it in perspective for children by relaying this incredible fact:\u00a0 “A caterpillar is a leaf-eating machine.\u00a0 Just two weeks after hatching, Monarch caterpillars are 2,700 times their originial weight!\u00a0 If a newborn baby gained weight that fast, it would weigh eight tons in fourteen days.\u00a0 That’s as big as two full-grown rhinos!”\u00a0 In every class that I have used this book to talk about butterflies, this fact never fails to elicit huge gasps of awe.\u00a0 While Kelly ends her story by talking about the threats butterflies face due to habitat destruction, she gently reminds readers what they can do to help beautify their world by planting flowers in a yard to attract butterflies.\u00a0<\/p>\n Curriculum Connections<\/strong><\/p>\n Because the book is so very detailed in certain sections, parts of this book work well as a read-aloud, while other parts can be simply shown to the class as part of a picture walk.\u00a0 Children will certainly enjoy having time to peruse this book on their own, so it would be\u00a0a good addition to an elementary classroom library.\u00a0 It would be best utilized in a discussion of changes and life cycles in a kindergarten class (K.6) or second grade (2.4a).\u00a0 Third graders learning more about life cycles would enjoy it as well (3.8), especially as they explore how animals migrate and use camoflage to survive (3.4b).\u00a0<\/p>\n Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n National Geographic Kids’ Creature Feature: Monarch Butterflies<\/a>:\u00a0This kid-friendly site has loads of information about monarchs – facts and photos, video of their migration from Canada to Mexico, a world map showing where monarchs are found, and a printable fact sheet.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The Children’s Butterfly Site<\/a> by the Big Sky Institute at Montana State University:\u00a0Here you can find good photos and text about the life cycle of butterflies and moths, as well as links to photo galleries, species stories, and teaching and learning tools<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The American Museum of Natural History (NYC)’s Butterfly Conservatory<\/a>:\u00a0Like other museum butterfly exhibitions, the AMNH provides a link to its butterfly exhibition (Tropical Butterflies Alive in Winter<\/em>, through 5\/31\/2010), a butterfly cam<\/a> link, FAQ’s, a photo gallery, and tips on how to grow a butterfly garden <\/a>of your own.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The Boston Museum of Science activity for early elementary schoolers:\u00a0 Capillary Action Butterflies:\u00a0 <\/a>Children can learn more about the differences between moths and butterflies through this science activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Enchanted Learning <\/a>has lots of links to elementary level activities:\u00a0 anatomical drawings of butterflies and moths, butterfly and moth life cyle sequencing cards and printable books, and even a butterfly and moth Venn Diagram<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \u00a0General Information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n