Lela and the Butterflies

Lela loves butterflies, so when she hears of a butterfly walk to be held at a nature center, she asks to participate. During the educational walk, Ranger Maggie helps Lela identify various butterfly and plant species. Lela then learns how to plant a garden that will attract butterflies and other pollinators. She plants such a garden at home; and when she finds she has surplus seeds the following autumn, Lela and her classmates plant a butterfly garden at school. As the plants grow in the spring, she shares some of the plants with more individuals in order to create many more butterfly gardens.

This charmingly illustrated book attractively shows ethnically diverse characters while delivering a lesson in nature conservancy. It emphasizes the importance of choosing native plant species to attract the butterflies and other pollinators that are native to one’s area. Instructions detailing how to create a butterfly garden appear at the end of the book to encourage the reader to follow in Lela’s footsteps. As a bonus, Bookface (#Bookface) fans will appreciate the way that the illustrator portrays Lela on the front cover.

This is a beautiful picture book. Lela loves butterflies and learning about them. The pictures are so life like and real.

A fun and informative story about Lela and her quest to provide butterfly gardens all around her! There is information on planting and identifying butterflies as well.

I received an electronic ARC from Rowman & Littlefield through NetGalley.
Lela loves butterflies and learns all she can about them. I appreciate how the author weaves informative text into the narrative for elementary level readers. As the family joins Ranger Maggie on a nature walk, they see all sorts of butterflies in their natural habitats. After seeing the butterfly garden at the nature center, Lela wants to create one at her home. The family creates this space, and readers learn along with Lela when butterflies arrive. Finally, some monarchs lay their eggs and the life cycle is shared. The lesson to create more butterfly spaces is also woven in as Lela shares seeds from her garden with others.
The illustrations pull readers in and show realistic portrayals of the various butterflies.
Excellent book to introduce a butterfly unit for middle elementary level.