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CM . . . . Volume XIX Number 5 . . . . October 5, 2012
excerpt:
Bye, Bye, Butterflies!, an ideal blend of story and science, introduces young readers to the butterfly life cycle through a fictional narrative. Readers follow a young boy, Charlie, and his father, who are out for a quiet walk on a city street, straining to hear the sounds of nature. Instead, they hear the raised voices of happy children shouting, �Bye, bye, butterflies.� The significance of this hollering will not be realised by Charlie until the end of his first year of school when his teacher initiates a hands-on activity on the butterfly life cycle by bringing a box of live caterpillars to school. The children tend to their caterpillars, learning not only about their development, but also about the skills required for managing scientific experiments, such as observation (and patience). Once the caterpillars undergo metamorphosis and become butterflies, Charlie and his classmates are led to a rooftop where they let their butterflies go, hollering �Bye, bye, butterflies,� just as Charlie had heard the previous year. A young boy hears Charlie and his class shouting, leading readers into a complete narrative circle that mirrors the cyclical nature of the butterfly life cycle.
Highly Recommended. Roxy Garstad is a librarian at MacEwan University in Edmonton, AB.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca. Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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