"Milkweed stretches taller. Two by two,
its leaves spread wide,
sheltering long-legged spiders,
black and orange beetles.
Monarch lights on Milkweed,
drums her feet on Milkweed's flower,
and tastes home."
The monarch makes, as you know, an arduous journey before arriving to light on the healthy and vibrant milkweed plant. The plant matures and blooms. Before the blooms drop to give their seeds space, the monarchs find mates and flit from one milkweed plant to the next, leaving an egg behind at each stop.
It is most interesting to have the life cycles of both plant and butterfly described in a lovely, lilting free verse tale. The illustrations are beautifully detailed in soft tones that show how the lives of the graceful plant and elegant butterfly are interdependent. The tone of the book is gentle, in keeping with the beauty of the two species.
Some simple and accessible facts are presented as the book ends. They are additional to what listeners learn when sharing this story. The research is strong in a book that readers will find informative and lively. The endpapers remind us of the incredible journey that these beautiful flyers take as they travel from their winter to their summer home, and back again. We discover much about the monarch and the milkweed plant in this fine book, but we also learn that there is so much more to discover. Scientists are forever seeking answers to the questions they continue to ask. And constantly adding to their store of knowledge.
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