MIRABELLE'S METAMORPHOSIS

A monarch butterfly tells her story in Rask-Huntington’s nonfiction picture book.

Mirabelle narrates her own life cycle from “wee little egg to a beautiful Monarch butterfly.” The book describes each stage in simple terms, accompanied by beautiful photographs by the author. Familiar objects, such as a tube of lip balm, helpfully clarify how big the caterpillar is after hatching. The story introduces a slightly older monarch caterpillar, Maxwell, to demonstrate how much larger the tiny caterpillar will get. Mirabelle eats a great deal and grows; when she’s ready, she finds a spot next to Maxwell where she can hang upside down and turn into a chrysalis. For 10 to 14 days, Mirabelle waits while she transforms. Children will delight in seeing the changes, as shown in Rask-Huntington’s six-photo chronology. Mirabelle is now ready for her next adventure: traveling to Mexico for the winter. Each photo will enrich readers’ understanding; the images are all clear and close-up, so children will easily understand the accompanying text. Even non-readers will enjoy following the story through the pictures. Rask-Huntington also provides instructions for children on how to make a butterfly box to observe the transformation, as well as information on identifying whether a monarch butterfly is male or female.

A delightfully simple, highly visual explanation of a natural phenomenon.