Book Love: Butterfly Books

We used quite a few butterfly books as part of our life cycle study this year. Here are a few of our favorites!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
This one is a classic for a reason. Although, I change the word "cocoon" to "chrysalis" when I read it. :) There are so many fun ways you can connect to this text, from counting to story retelling to art.

Ten Little Caterpillars
I love that this book explores the life of a caterpillar, and the many different varieties that there are. Students can connect to the experiences in the book, particularly the one where a caterpillar is taken to school in a jar. This is also a great book for connecting to math. Plus Lois Ehlert's illustrations in this book are so delightful.

A Butterfly is Patient
This is a beautifully illustrated informational text about butterflies. I don't always read it word for word when I use it with my preschool classes, but I love the descriptive phrases and incorporate that into our entire study. "A butterfly is patient, a butterfly is creative, a butterfly is magical..." We used that same format to describe the caterpillars: "a caterpillar is hungry...spiky...wiggly" and the chrysalis: "a chrysalis is quiet...still...bumpy."

Waiting for Wings
We read this one on the day we released our butterflies, and my students were so excited to notice that it features a Painted Lady Butterfly- the type we'd been raising! This book also goes through the butterfly stages of the butterfly life cycle, but spends a little bit more time with what happens after they are butterflies. And once again, I love Lois Ehlert's style of illustration and the way she labels them to bring attention to the realistic nature of her work.

Photographic Nonfiction Books
I have some informational books I've collected over the years that are no longer being sold, but I love using books that have actual photographs in them as well. There are so many out there that would provide the same kind of experience. :)

Other Fun Butterfly Books
There are so many books about butterflies out there. We didn't get to these ones this time around, but they could also be fun to check out if you want to continue to explore these amazing insects!

We also created our own butterfly books as we observed our caterpillars grow and change into butterflies. I love the different ways that children represent their thinking and observations at this stage of writing.
Caterpillars

Life Cycle


Butterflies