Goodnight, Butterfly (A Very Impatient Caterpillar Book)

by Ross Burach, Ross Burach (Illustrator)

Overview

“Everyone’s favorite frantic insect is back . . . this time trying to sleep.” — Kirkus Reviews

This laugh-out-loud companion to The Very Impatient Caterpillar and The Little Butterfly That Could is perfect for bedtime—or any time!—and will delight fans of Mo Willems' Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!

"Who needs to sleep at night, anyway?

There’s so much I’d miss!

I’ll just be nocturnal too.

What do you think?"

"I think we need to get you back to sleep."

Readers will laugh themselves silly as they learn to find their inner calm and settle for sleep—even when they wake in the night—while also discovering the difference between nocturnal and diurnal animals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338615012
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/02/2022
Series:	A Very Impatient Caterpillar Book
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	143,928
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

ROSS BURACH is the creator of the riotously funny Very Impatient Caterpillar series that includes The Very Impatient Caterpillar; The Little Butterfly That Could; Goodnight, Butterfly; and Make Way for Butterfly. All the books combine humor with curriculum-friendly science topics and relatable social-emotional themes. Ross's other acclaimed books include the picture book Truck Full of Ducks, the board books I Love My Tutu Too!, Potty All-Star, Hi-Five Farm!, and Hi-Five Animals!, named the best board book of the year by Parents magazine, and the Acorn early reader series Bumble and Bee. Ross lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York. You can visit him online at rossburach.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Goodnight, Butterfly: "It wouldn’t be Burach’s style without one more final, silly twist. Chatty dialogue in different colored speech bubbles amps up the wit. . . .Fun bedtime fare that’s sure to have little ones nodding along before nodding off." — Kirkus ReviewsPraise for The Very Impatient Caterpillar: ​​​​​​​ "Will delight fans of Mo Willems's 'Pigeon' series... absolutely charming." — School Library Journal ​​​​​​​ * "A good choice for read aloud[s]... There's definitely some science lurking here among the laughs, and preschool and primary classrooms can jumpstart the life cycle units with this super-charged title." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review ​​​​​​​ "Burach chronicles this miracle of nature in cartoon scenes as loud as the rapid patter... It won't be just adults chuckling at the interactions between the title character and its patiently pupating companions." — Kirkus Reviews ​​​​​​​ "Burach's mixed-media digital artwork makes good use of the cartoon style to depict vibrantly colored caterpillars and the protagonist's overwrought emotions. Particularly humorous are the spot drawings showing the inside of the chrysalis, in which he rails against the measured pace of nature... a good choice for science edutainment." — Booklist ​​​​​​​ Praise for Truck Full of Ducks: ​​​​​​​ "Burach will have readers quacking up, both with the frequent repetition of the title — 'Did you call for a truck full of ducks?' is a funny line no matter how often it's read or heard — and over the illustrations... Sight gags and side comments in the pictures add further yuks to this ducky delight." — Booklist ​​​​​​​ "Children will delight in the extreme silliness of this story and will repeatedly pore over the detailed, colorful, and quirky illustrations." — School Library Journal ​​​​​​​ "Burach tells his story entirely through dialogue, packing it — and his exuberant, crayon-like digital illustrations — with visual jokes [and] an abundance of funny details to discover in each scene." — Publishers Weekly ​​​​​​​ "Silly details decorate every spread... Storytime audiences will quack up." — Kirkus Reviews ​​​​​​​ Praise for I Love My Tutu Too: ​​​​​​​ * "This is much more than a counting book; it is a rollicking tutu lovefest expressed with plenty of alliteration, rhythm, and, most especially, a clever play on homophones... Burach's bright cartoons are whimsical and humorous, the animals' faces brimming with expression... Who knew a tutu-clad clan could have so much fun?" — Kirkus Reviews, starred review ​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​* "Featuring an irresistible text, bold numerals, and cartoon characters in a flurry of pink, purple, and yellow costumes, the book's diverse troupe gathers to, what else? Dance! Wacky and wonderful." — School Library Journal, starred review

From the Publisher

07/01/2022

PreS-Gr 2—Awakened in the middle of the night, a hyperactive butterfly, aided by an eternally patient porcupine, launches a series of increasingly silly attempts to get back to sleep. Burach's mannered humor, stuffed with postmodern gags, winking references, and slapstick action beats, seem to be aimed at adults. The stylized illustrations, made with pencil, crayon, acrylic paint, and digital coloring, recall a self-consciously zany comic strip—an effect magnified by the choice to eschew narration entirely in favor of snappy back-and-forth dialogue in colored speech bubbles. The brief allusions to the phenomenon of nocturnality shoehorned in along the way contribute little to the atmosphere, as they are too slight to be informative and too dry to be funny. Unlike the antic pacing found in a Mo Willems's book, which creates a narrative arc and leads to a conclusion, this is frenetic without focus. VERDICT The irreverent humor and wacky visual aesthetic, while amusing enough, may fly over the heads of children.—Jonah Dragan

School Library Journal

2022-05-11
In the great green…(ahem) tree, there is a butterfly who learns about nocturnal life.

Everyone’s favorite frantic insect is back (The Very Impatient Caterpillar, 2019), this time trying to sleep. But a porcupine is loudly munching on their breakfast. Breakfast?! “I’m nocturnal,” the spiky friend explains. “I know you’re NOT a turtle,” the protagonist retorts. Butterfly has a ton of questions. “Are you scared of the light?” (No.) “Ever seen a cow jumping over the moon?” (No.) “Can cows even jump?” Unable to sleep, Butterfly decides to be nocturnal, too. Porcupine tries to help Butterfly settle down, with little success. In a last-ditch effort to stave off sleep, Butterfly makes a long list of everything the new “BNFFs” (“Best Nocturnal Friends Forever”) will do together. Porcupine is concerned. “I think we need to get you back to sleep.” Employing the use of a few relaxation techniques, Butterfly is soon nodding off to dreamland. But it wouldn’t be Burach’s style without one more final, silly twist. Chatty dialogue in different colored speech bubbles amps up the wit, with Porcupine’s measured answers exaggerating the butterfly’s frenzied state. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Fun bedtime fare that’s sure to have little ones nodding along before nodding off. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews