IF YOU LIKE BUTTERFLIES

Three inquisitive children study butterflies in the wild.

The youngsters notice that each type of butterfly is a different size, with various colors and markings; even their wings are differently shaped. The kids frolic through a meadow, gleefully observing how butterflies drink nectar and carry pollen from flower to flower. In Swiatkowska’s illustrations, the children’s movements cleverly mirror the butterflies’: One kid drinks from a straw as a butterfly uses its long proboscis to suck nectar from an open bloom. The children learn about the butterfly’s life cycle, including its caterpillar larvae beginnings, chrysalis, and final transformation. Readers will pore over the painstakingly detailed artwork, which lovingly nods to art nouveau scientific diagrams. On one spread, individually labeled butterfly eggs are neatly spaced across the page, each one an absolute feast for the eye: some shiny and smooth, others rough or hairy, each a different shape, color, and texture. Brimming with information, Schaefer’s melodic prose lets readers float from beginning to end as if on butterfly wings, landing on engaging backmatter that includes instructions for planting a butterfly garden. One child is pale-skinned and blond-haired; another is brown-skinned with dark curly hair; the third presents East Asian.

Sure to set butterfly lovers’ hearts aflutter.