Butterflies and Butterfly Books

Ever spring we look forward to raising butterflies. We often read about them too!




We order caterpillars and enjoy watching them grow from small little caterpillars to giant caterpillars.

They go into their chrysalis and we anxiously await their emergence.



Starting to hatch; we can see the butterfly (in detail) through the shell
of the chrysalis 

We feed them and watch them for a day or two. They are so beautiful to watch and my boys still get excited watching them eat with their proboscis.


Drinking using the proboscis


We've done this for three years now and it never gets old!

After a couple of days we release them.

Usually one or two fly out and away on their own 

Often the boys are able to take turns holding them up before they take flight 

Today our butterfly was content to hang around 


Watching the painted lady roll up her proboscis! 

Over the years we've read books about butterflies during the spring to better understand the species and we've found some really amazing books over the years.

Here are our top 10 books about butterflies:

1.  A Butterfly is Patient-- We love the illustrations and the information is presented beautifully.  It's like the words are ready to fly off the pages along with the butterflies.


2.  Where Butterflies Grow- This books gives an up close look at butterflies in the garden.  The illustrations are just amazing. 


3. Monarch and Milkweed- Again we LOVED the illustrations.  This book was filled with information about the migratory patters of the monarch butterfly. 

  

4. Monarch Butterfly- Gail Gibbons books are always filled with lots of information and my kids enjoy them so much.  


5. Life Cycle of a Butterfly- Filled with information this book takes you through the life cycle of butterflies.  


6.  Are You a Butterfly?- Perfect for younger kids this book has a bit of text on each page combined with beautiful artwork. 


7. Butterfly House- Story of a girl who finds a caterpillar, makes it a home and watches it turn into a butterfly.  Again the illustrations are amazing and the story is so sweet. 


8. Butterflies in the Garden- This book teaches about flowers that attract butterflies to your garden.  The information is presented in a way that is perfect for children to understand with lots of pictures and descriptions and an easy to read text.


9. National Geographic Readers: Great Migrations Butterflies-  We love all the National Geographic Readers!  They are filled with wonderful photographs and are so informative.  There are books about butterflies at each reading level but we prefer this level three book for the simple reason that it has the most information about butterflies. 


10. Flight of the Butterflies- This book teaches about the migratory patterns of Monarch Butterflies and combines photographs with artwork for a simple story that my children really enjoy.  


Linking Up With: Wonderful Wednesdays,

Comments

  1. Lisa EhrmanMay 31, 2016 at 5:30 PM

    These books look beautiful! Thanks for sharing your post on Together on Tuesdays :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Andrea NineMay 31, 2016 at 9:44 PM

    I was mesmerized by butterflies as a girl and still adore these delicate creatures!! What lovely books!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3June 1, 2016 at 6:53 AM

      Me too! I just love them; so pretty and colorful.... I could watch then all day.

      Delete
  3. Michele MorinJune 1, 2016 at 8:44 AM

    I have such great memories from doing this with my boys!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3June 1, 2016 at 6:18 PM

      It is so much fun; each year I ask and each year they're really excited to do it again.

      Delete
  4. shelly sangreyJune 1, 2016 at 8:43 PM

    We did a butterfly unit study a few years ago. We loved the Gail Gibbons book. Your family always does the neatest things!

    ReplyDelete
  5. shelly sangreyJune 1, 2016 at 8:43 PM

    We did a butterfly unit study a few years ago. We loved the Gail Gibbons book. Your family always does the neatest things!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3June 4, 2016 at 9:44 AM

      Thank you! That is such a wonderful compliment.

      Delete
  6. Trena BalakrishnanJune 2, 2016 at 1:15 AM

    We just released butterflies on Tuesday. I'm not sure if this was our 3rd or 4th time for them. But you're right, it never grows old. My kids want to do the Praying Mantis next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3June 4, 2016 at 9:50 AM

      We thought about trying the praying mantises next year too. We raised ladybugs with our butterflies last year and that was pretty neat.

      Delete
  7. Erin VincentJune 4, 2016 at 8:03 AM

    Oh my gosh, they are just sitting on their hands! How cool is that! Thank you for the book suggestions. I can't wait to raise our own butterflies.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3June 4, 2016 at 9:51 AM

      That is their favorite part of releasing them! We always have one or two that fly away on their own right away but there are often a few that stick around for a few minutes and the boys get to hold them and watch them up close for a bit.

      Delete
  8. Anne CampbellJune 4, 2016 at 9:11 AM

    Thank you so much for linking up with What to Read Wednesday and sharing your awesome butterfly adventures with us. Your post was the most clicked post from last week and will be featured on this Wednesday's post. I hope you'll stop by and link up again! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3June 4, 2016 at 9:52 AM

      Oh, that is wonderful! Of course I'll be linking up again. Thank you for hosting!

      Delete
  9. Swapna (The Practical Mom)June 6, 2016 at 7:53 PM

    The pictures are so beautiful! I can't imagine taking a perfect picture of a butterfly! Was is still?

    #practicalmondays

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3June 6, 2016 at 8:19 PM

      Thank you! The butterflies were moving slightly and slowly; just batting their wings.

      Delete
  10. TiffinyMarch 19, 2017 at 9:19 AM

    These books look gorgeous! I want to read every one. Thanks for sharing this list with us at the Kid Lit Blog Hop. I will be sure to pass it on.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Stacie TheisApril 3, 2017 at 11:53 AM

    What a fun tradition of raising butterflies! Thank you for sharing your journey from chrysalis to flight. The books look wonderful too! Happy you linked this to the Kid Lit Blog Hop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3April 3, 2017 at 4:51 PM

      Thank you! It's been a lot of fun watching them and releasing them.

      Delete
  12. Naila Moon aka M. M. HudsonApril 10, 2017 at 3:11 AM

    I love butterflies! The fact you raised a few and compared them to books. Love that too!
    Thanks for sharing on the Kid Lit Blog Hop!

    Naila Moon
    http://readingauthors.blogspot.com/2017/03/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3April 10, 2017 at 6:57 AM

      I love them too so this one experiment I don't mind doing over and over with them.

      Delete

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