Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert Age Level: Toddler and up

Synopsis: Every spring, butterflies emerge and dazzle the world with their vibrant beauty. But where do butterflies come from? How are they born? What do they eat--and how? With a simple, rhyming text and glorious color-drenched collage, Lois Ehlert provides clear answers to these and other questions as she follows the life cycle of four common butterflies, from their beginnings as tiny hidden eggs and hungry caterpillars to their transformation into full-grown butterflies.

Song

Caterpillar Dance by Scott Mcbee Age Level: Toddler and up

Synopsis: Five sleepy caterpillars--yellow, purple, green, blue, red--All snuggled up on a soft leaf bed. Yellow caterpillar wiggle jiggle wiggle free. Yellow caterpillar, what will you be? Count backwards from five to one as colorful caterpillars change into gorgeous foil butterflies with each turn of the die-cut pages! The caterpillars are affixed to the last spread of the book and show through the die-cut pages.

Song

Good Night, Sweet Butterflies by Dawn Bentley Age Level: Toddler and up

Synopsis: Each glitter-covered butterfly flits through a color-themed spread which offers a place for the little winged one to sleep: "on red roses as a red robin sings good night," is the text accompanying a psychedelic, color-saturated image of birds, flowers, and various insects. The meter of the rhyming text is a bit off, which makes it hard to read the book rhythmically, but little ones are likely to be so enthralled with the illustrations that it won’t matter. The thick, kid-friendly pages are easy to turn and hard to tear; the butterflies are securely mounted, but not impossible to remove, so it might be a good idea to keep this one for reading together.

Song

Gotta Go! Gotta Go! by Sam Swope Age Level: Preschool and up

Synopsis: "I don't know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!" The creepy-crawly bug doesn't know why she does what she does. She only knows she has to do it. But making the journey seems impossible for the slow-moving critter, who has no idea what or where Mexico is. Then an everyday miracle occurs, bringing a transformation that will help her fulfill her destiny. Each autumn, millions of Monarch butterflies migrate from the central and eastern United States and Canada to colonies in the mountains of Mexico, where they mate before flying north in the spring to lay their eggs.

Films

The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Jack Kent Age Level: Pre-K-2 Running Time: 7 Minutes

Synopsis: This is a story about a caterpillar who feels very special because she knows that one day she will become a beautiful butterfly. Eventually, the caterpillar tells the polliwog that she is going to turn into something else. The polliwog responds that he is going to turn into something else too. By the time the caterpillar leaves the cocoon as a butterfly, the polliwog has turned into a frog.

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert Age Level: Pre-K-2

Synopsis: Every spring, butterflies emerge and dazzle the world with their vibrant beauty. But where do butterflies come from? How are they born? What do they eat--and how? With a simple, rhyming text and glorious color-drenched collage, Lois Ehlert provides clear answers to these and other questions as she follows the life cycle of four common butterflies, from their beginnings as tiny hidden eggs and hungry caterpillars to their transformation into full-grown butterflies.

More Books to Read On Your Own

The Caterpillar and the Polliwog
by Jack Kent
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: This is a story about a caterpillar who feels very special because she knows that one day she will become a beautiful butterfly. Eventually, the caterpillar tells the polliwog that she is going to turn into something else. The polliwog responds that he is going to turn into something else too. By the time the caterpillar leaves the cocoon as a butterfly, the polliwog has turned into a frog.

Why Butterflies Go By On Silent Wings
by Marguerite Davol
Age Level: Kindergarten and up
Synopsis: When the world was young, butterflies were so noisy that they did not see the beauty around them--until a great storm transformed and silenced them.

More Songs for at Home

Little Caterpillar

There was a little caterpillar crawling all about
He worked and he worked without a doubt.
[Wiggle one finger.]
Wrapping himself in a snug cocoon.
Waiting and waiting, will it be soon?
[Place finger in palm of other hand, wrap fingers around.]
Look, he’s coming out, my oh my!
For now he’s become a beautiful butterfly.
[Cross thumbs and let fingers be flapping butterfly wings.]

Fuzzy Wuzzy Caterpillar

Fuzzy Wuzzy Caterpillar
Into a corner will creep
[Creep fingers.]
He'll spin himself a blanket
And then fall fast asleep
[Rest head, close eyes.]

Fuzzy, wuzzy caterpillar
Very soon will rise
[Wake up.]
And find he has grown beautiful wings
Now he's a butterfly.