Butterfly Counting

By: Jerry Pallotta / Illustrated by: Shennen Bersani So many butterflies. Count them all! Butterflies live on every continent on earth, except for Antarctica. There are hundreds of varieties and they come in so many beautiful colors, it seems impossible to count them all. Start with twenty-five. Plus one penguin and one grasshopper. Start with the number zero. Zero butterflies in Antarctica. See one red Zarinda and learn that butterflies have one curly proboscis that they use to sip liquid. Count two Holly Blue butterflies and learn that butterflies have two antennae that they use for smell. Keep looking to count up to twenty-five Piano Keys, and see how they got their name—their beautiful black, red, and white wings look like they could make music. Young readers are not only guided through the numbers zero to twenty-five, they learn fascinating facts about butterflies, as well as how to say “butterfly” in twenty-eight different languages, including Dutch (vlinder), Hebrew (parpar), Polish (motyl), and English (butterfly). Shennen Bersani’s gorgeous illustrations of these elusive, flighty creatures accentuate their beauty, grace, and colorful varieties for curious readers. If you like this book, you’ll enjoy these: The Butterfly Alphabet Book Counting is for the Birds [TABS] Look Inside Author & Illustrator Jerry Pallotta, author Jerry Pallotta is the author of numerous children's books, including Dory Story; a series of alphabet books, among them The Icky Bug Alphabet Book and The Butterfly Alphabet Book; and more than twenty math books, including Underwater Counting: Even Numbers. Jerry lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Read more about Jerry. Shennen Bersani, illustrator Shennen Bersani has illustrated many books for children, including Butterfly Colors and Counting, Ocean Counting: Odd Numbers, and Icky Bug Shapes. Shennen lives near Boston, Massachusetts. Read more about Shennen Awards & Honors AAAS's Science Books & Films Best List Editorial Reviews Kirkus Reviews An unusual butterfly book introduces facts about the insects, portrays 24 different species, gives the word for "butterfly" in 27 languages other than English, and counts up from zero to 25. While the numeration provides the organization, this is far more than a counting book. Beginning with the fact that there are no butterflies in Antarctica, the author goes on to surprise readers with a spread of 20 colorful moths, highlighting the confusing similarities between the two species, although not explaining their actual differences. Then the proper count begins, with each page presenting a different species, an interesting fact and a word for "butterfly" in another language, including Mandarin, Finnish, Navajo, Tagalog and sign. From one to 10, each species is also a different solid color; Nos. 11 through 19 are multicolored, and the 20th shows eggs. Then there's a surprise: 21 different caterpillars. To finish, there are chrysalises and more butterflies. The counting, particularly in the larger groups, takes enough effort to make this interesting to the likely audience. The facts feel arbitrarily presented but they are accurate, and the illustrations, done with colored pencil and digitally manipulated, are colorful and true-to-life. Sadly, there's no index. This welcome reworking of the author's earlier Butterfly Counting Book and board book Butterfly Colors and Counting offers learning opportunities galore. Publishers Weekly Expanding on the subject of their 2013 board book Butterfly Colors and Counting, Pallotta and Bersani take readers on a tour of the world's butterflies, while encouraging their counting skills. Counting up to 25, Pallotta packs a notable amount of material into the book, detailing aspects of butterfly anatomy, behavior, development, and more (readers also learn how to say "butterfly" in two dozen languages, including Swahili, Tagalog, and sign language). Bersani's detailed, naturalistic illustrations and Pallotta's reader-directed questions ("If you were the first person to find this butterfly, what would you call it?") ought to have readers intrigued by Amethyst Hairstreaks, Blue Triangles, and other colorful varieties of butterflies. School Library Journal A beautifully illustrated book that can be enjoyed by a wide range of readers. Beginning with zero and going up to 25, this colorful counting book explores the beauty and diversity of butterflies. The text provides rich vocabulary words, and students are able to use context clues to determine meaning. Bold colors capture readers' attention as various types of butterflies flutter in a counters 'paradise. The author explains how to say butterfly in a different language on each page ("In the Hebrew language, a parpar is a butterfly. In Spanish, a butterfly is called a mariposa."). On the science end, readers learn interesting facts about butterflies, such as how they camouflage themselves and how they use their feet to taste. This book is a fun and exciting way to learn about butterflies and reinforce counting skills. VERDICT A solid concept book with eye-catching artwork. Downloadables Download the Cover Details Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-57091-414-0 Paperback ISBN: 978-1-57091-415-7 E-book ISBN: 978-1-60734-719-4 EPUB ISBN: 978-1-60734-638-8 PDF Ages: 3-7 Page count: 32 11 x 8 1⁄2 Correlated to Common Core State Standards: English Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Informational. Grade K. Standards 1, 3-8, 10 English Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Informational. Grade 1. Standards 1-4, 6, 7, 10 [/TABS]