Butterflies Are Pretty ... Gross!

by Rosemary Mosco, Jacob Souva (Illustrator)

Overview

Warning — this book contains top-secret information about butterflies! Prepare to be shocked and grossed out by this hilarious and totally true picture book introduction to a fascinating insect.

Butterflies are beautiful and quiet and gentle and sparkly . . . but that's not the whole truth. Butterflies can be GROSS. And one butterfly in particular is here to let everyone know! Talking directly to the reader, a monarch butterfly reveals how its kind is so much more than what we think. Did you know some butterflies enjoy feasting on dead animals, rotten fruit, tears and even poop? Some butterflies are loud, like the Cracker butterfly. Some are stinky — the smell scares predators away. Butterflies can be sneaky, like the ones who pretend to be ants to get free babysitting.

This hilarious and refreshing book with silly and sweet illustrations explores the science of butterflies and shows that these insects are not the stereotypically cutesy critters we often think they are — they are fascinating, disgusting, complicated and amazing creatures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735265929
Publisher:	Tundra
Publication date:	04/06/2021
Series:	Nature's Top Secrets
Pages:	36
Sales rank:	321,689
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD500L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

ROSEMARY MOSCO makes books, articles, cartoons and graphics that connect people with the natural world. Her nature comics were the subject of an award-winning museum exhibit and are collected in a book that was a 2019 ALA Great Graphic Novel for Teens. She co-wrote the New York Times bestseller The Atlas Obscura Explorer's Guide for the World's Most Adventurous Kid. She speaks at birding festivals and nature centers and writes for Audubon.

JACOB SOUVA has a beautiful wife, two amazing sons and resides in a small countryside community in upstate New York. He loves to make kids laugh and think with his illustrations. Jacob sketches constantly and finishes his work digitally, placing a lot of emphasis on simple shapes, color and lots and lots of texture. Jacob has illustrated several picture books including The Boy with Big, Big Feelings and Pedro's Pan.

Editorial Reviews

One of Canadian Children's Book Centre’s Best Books for Kids and Teens, Fall 2021 — Starred Pick
A 2022 Texas Library Association 2x2 Reading List Pick

“A proboscis-in-cheek introduction to butterflies that will appeal to reluctant readers and bug enthusiasts alike.” —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews

“Mosco’s written text is informative, playful, and humorous.” —CM Magazine

“Jacob Souva's artwork adds to the hilarity of this resource.” —Library Matters

“Cute, funny, entertaining, and educational, this book will be enjoyed by insect lovers of all ages.” —Calgary Herald

From the Publisher

★ 2021-02-09
A witty look at the less-beautiful characteristics of butterflies.

As this informational book opens, a big-eyed monarch-butterfly narrator flits and flutters with its beautiful friends. Then, in metafictive fashion, it warns readers that if they want to continue believing that pretty is the essence of butterflies, “DON’T TURN THE PAGE.” Of course, curious readers will keep going! The narrator reveals the truth: “Some butterflies are gross.” Readers peer through the narrator’s binoculars as it describes in pithy text such shocking sights as butterflies slurping up dead-animal juices and offers additional undesirable adjectives, like “drab” butterflies that resemble dull leaves, an adaptation that confuses hungry birds. Comical illustrations that feature patterns and earth tones highlight the humor. But wait, there’s more, as the narrator warns once again: “OK, prepare to get weirded out.” It starts up an old-fashioned movie projector, and as it uses such monstrous terms as shape-shifters and carnivorous, it explains and shows scenes of metamorphosis, caterpillars’ diets, and more. Finally, the narrator takes readers into a top-secret lab and reveals images of butterflies tasting with their feet, eating poop, and drinking tears—and some that “have butts that look like heads.” A concluding chart depicts thumbnails of featured butterflies, further related facts, and their geographic range. All in all, it’s a fun addition—or alternative—to traditional insect study. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

A proboscis-in-cheek introduction to butterflies that will appeal to reluctant readers and bug enthusiasts alike. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews