(2 bks)
Pringle, L. (1997). An Extraordinary Life: The story of a Monarch Butterfly. New York, NY. Orchard Books.
Grade Level: 3rd to 8th
Lexile- 1140
Standards: Life Science, Geography, and Geology
Awards:
NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
1997 ALA Notable Chldren’s book
IRA Teachers’ Choice
John Burroughs List of Books for Young Readers
Summary: This life cycle book tells about the story of one monarch, Danaus (monarch’s Latin name), who went on an amazing trip from Massachusetts to find a winter home in a fir tree on top of a mountain in Mexico. It tells of all the dangerous and interesting lengths that monarchs go through to make this journey. This story chronologically tells about the life cycle of monarch butterflies in a way that the reader can understand and visualize. This carefully written narrative style book gives young readers the definition to new words within the text and along the sidebar for more clarification.
Credibility of the author: This book was written after Pringle read the book Minn of Mississppi by Holling C. Hollings, which is about a snapping turtle. Pringle wanted to create a shorter, simpler book that captured the same greatness of this book. He considered several creatures but due to his fascination with the monarch butterfly he chose this to be the most appropriate to select. Marshall wanted him to choose a bird or whale because they are easier to paint. However, Pringle was moved by the migration pattern of the monarch butterflies in North America. Pringle read a lot of research on monarch butterflies and went to leading researchers to get the most up-to-date information. He questioned Lincoln Brower, who is considered to be the world’s most knowledgeable person about monarchs. When Brower didn’t have the answers to Pringle’s questions, he recommended scientist who would.
Illustrator/Illustrations: Bob Marshall traveled to Mexico to visit a monarch winter colony so that he could take his own photographs to use as a basis for his paintings.
Access Features: Side bars, Further reading (suggest texts), Index, Table of Contents, maps, and labeled paintings.
How I would use in my classroom:
I would use this book as an introduction to a life cycle unit. It would be great to compare it to other nonfiction books about the butterfly's life cycle. I could also use this book across the content area in Social Studies by following the migration pattern from Massachusetts to Mexico.
My response to the book.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It wasn’t just another life cycle book about how one thing leads to the next. It was very interesting in how Pringle used a single monarch to explain and help the reader understand what goes on in each stage. This book kept me interested in finding out what would happen to Danaus next.
Pringle, L. (1997). An Extraordinary Life: The story of a Monarch Butterfly. New York, NY. Orchard Books.
Grade Level: 3rd to 8th
Lexile- 1140
Standards: Life Science, Geography, and Geology
Awards:
NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
1997 ALA Notable Chldren’s book
IRA Teachers’ Choice
John Burroughs List of Books for Young Readers
Summary: This life cycle book tells about the story of one monarch, Danaus (monarch’s Latin name), who went on an amazing trip from Massachusetts to find a winter home in a fir tree on top of a mountain in Mexico. It tells of all the dangerous and interesting lengths that monarchs go through to make this journey. This story chronologically tells about the life cycle of monarch butterflies in a way that the reader can understand and visualize. This carefully written narrative style book gives young readers the definition to new words within the text and along the sidebar for more clarification.
Credibility of the author: This book was written after Pringle read the book Minn of Mississppi by Holling C. Hollings, which is about a snapping turtle. Pringle wanted to create a shorter, simpler book that captured the same greatness of this book. He considered several creatures but due to his fascination with the monarch butterfly he chose this to be the most appropriate to select. Marshall wanted him to choose a bird or whale because they are easier to paint. However, Pringle was moved by the migration pattern of the monarch butterflies in North America. Pringle read a lot of research on monarch butterflies and went to leading researchers to get the most up-to-date information. He questioned Lincoln Brower, who is considered to be the world’s most knowledgeable person about monarchs. When Brower didn’t have the answers to Pringle’s questions, he recommended scientist who would.
Illustrator/Illustrations: Bob Marshall traveled to Mexico to visit a monarch winter colony so that he could take his own photographs to use as a basis for his paintings.
Access Features: Side bars, Further reading (suggest texts), Index, Table of Contents, maps, and labeled paintings.
How I would use in my classroom:
I would use this book as an introduction to a life cycle unit. It would be great to compare it to other nonfiction books about the butterfly's life cycle. I could also use this book across the content area in Social Studies by following the migration pattern from Massachusetts to Mexico.
My response to the book.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It wasn’t just another life cycle book about how one thing leads to the next. It was very interesting in how Pringle used a single monarch to explain and help the reader understand what goes on in each stage. This book kept me interested in finding out what would happen to Danaus next.
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