Butterfly Sea

Written by Cynthia Mackey

Illustrated by Marie-Laure Couët

Tielmour Press

978-1-998426-22-5

42 pp.

Ages 4–8

January 2026

 

When a child takes her camera and heads out to photograph butterflies, she sees more than might be expected.

From Butterfly Sea, written by Cynthia Mackey, illustrated by Marie-Laure Couët

It's early morning. With a sea and grass and flowers nearby, there is lots to engage this little girl and her baby sister. While she patiently and quietly situates herself to watch for butterflies, the toddler becomes a side show of activity. But the toddler's play becomes visual poetry with every new permutation. She's a mermaid asking for ice cream when her teal blanket gets knotted into a tail, and then a pirate, and a shark. And while her older sister is tasked with watching her, ensuring she is safe and fed, the photographer does not lose focus.

From Butterfly Sea, written by Cynthia Mackey, illustrated by Marie-Laure Couët

Always mindful of her purpose, the young photographer watches and sees. But she sees with more than her eyes. She sees with her heart and her imagination. When the toddler appears swinging a branch, the photographer sees a pirate searching for treasure. She will "hand her maps and whisper golden secrets, promising riches and jewels on faraway beaches." (pg. 13)

From Butterfly Sea, written by Cynthia Mackey, illustrated by Marie-Laure Couët

With time and patience and dedication to both caregiving and observation, the child photographer gets what she'd waited for and enjoys a visual display for all the senses.

From Butterfly Sea, written by Cynthia Mackey, illustrated by Marie-Laure Couët

At first glance, the story of Butterfly Sea is a simple one of two children who've gone out to play, one hopeful of photographing butterflies. But the story is so much richer because Cynthia Mackey tells it with imagery and imagination that takes a simple story to one of pirates and sharks, kaleidoscopes and flowers. And it's told with lyricism that makes a simple outing into something magical.

 

The credits tell us that Marie-Laure Couët's art was created digitally, and I'm astonished as the textures of paper and paint suggests watercolour. How Marie-Laure Couët was able to achieve the subtle nuance of watercolour on textured paper, perfect for an adventure into nature, is beyond me. But the texture of that digital art mirrors the organic nature of the seaside and the meadows and everything else in between, and there is a sweetness there that reflects the relationship both between children and between children and nature.

 

This is the second book written by Cynthia Mackey that I have reviewed—If a Bumblebee Lands on Your Toe (2025) was the first—and I'm beginning to sense a theme. It might be the bewitching quality of insects, all around us but never really observed, or the power of the natural world to invigorate our lives, or the connection between species, or . . . maybe it's all of the above and none of the above. Maybe it's just the luxury of children at play, each in their own way, but told through the lens of fascination with observation.

My Book of Butterflies: Guest review

The following review was written by 

teacher-librarian Elizabeth Cook.

 

Written and illustrated by Geraldo Valério

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-335-5

48 pp.

Ages 3-6

2021

I was instantly drawn to My Book of Butterflies when I saw its cover. The bright yellow and oversized butterfly wing will capture the attention of everyone when they see My Book of Butterflies by Geraldo Valério. The lively cover made me feel like this was going to be such a happy book that I couldn’t wait to open the cover to discover what the book was all about. The inside cover is equally spectacular with drawings of all of the caterpillars of the book and the back cover has all of them drawn in their chrysalis stages too. I explored these images for a surprisingly long time as I was drawn in by their illustrations and their names (Itys Leafwing and Common Jezebel are my personal favourites).

From My Book of Butterflies by Geraldo Valério

The book begins with Geraldo Valério recounting his childhood experiences watching the caterpillars and butterflies in his home in Brazil. His fascination with these beautiful creatures never ceased and he wanted to share the beauty of the butterflies with all of his readers. The book depicts, with detailed drawings, the metamorphosis from egg to butterfly and the parts of the butterfly, as well including a map of the world where butterflies can be found and a glossary to help inform the reader.  To help organize the various butterflies depicted, Geraldo Valério uses different coloured backgrounds to identify the part of the world where the butterflies can be found. It is a bright and fun way to engage readers with the book.

From My Book of Butterflies by Geraldo Valério

The pages which focus on each butterfly are gorgeous. Simply stunning. The double-spreads are filled with oversized artwork of the butterflies with impressive details demonstrating the delicacy of the wings. Each page turn had me gasping at how pretty each butterfly was. Surrounding the enormous butterfly is a highly modern and almost geometric representation of what the environment looks like for that particular butterfly (I was very fond of the geometric tall grasses and yellow flowers of the Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing in Papua New Guinea). 

From My Book of Butterflies by Geraldo Valério

While the artwork of the book is clearly the star, the information on each page is also fun to read. Each butterfly is identified by its Latin name and there is a short paragraph with important facts. Most paragraphs focus on one unique fact about the butterfly and would be a great starting point for further research. I enjoyed learning how the European Peacock butterfly hibernates over winter and can hiss to scare away predators such as small rodents.

As a teacher-librarian, I can already tell that this book will be hard to keep on my shelves. However, the students will have to try to be quick to check out this book, as I know a lot of teachers will want to use this book for their science curriculum, particularly the Grade 2 Growth and Changes in Animals unit in Ontario.  Moreover, I know that the art teachers will be checking out the book for students to create some beautiful masterpieces using the illustrations in My Book of Butterflies for inspiration. I will definitely need to get more than one copy for my library...and perhaps one for my home collection!

~Elizabeth Cook is a teacher-librarian in the Halton District School Board. She is an avid reader and fan of Canadian literature. 

A Long Way Home

Written by Jean Little

Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-4431-7091-8

32 pp.

All ages

February 2022

 

No matter how different they are, Maya and Jane become fast friends after Maya moves into the apartment building next to Jane's house. When they learn about animals like whales and polar bears under threat, the two girls vow to do something together.

From A Long Way Home by Jean Little, illus. by Gabrielle Grimard

Jane's grandfather suggests they start close to home and do what they can for the monarch butterflies.

"...wishes don't come true without help..."

Learning of the monarchs' need for milkweed plants, the girls decide to start some plants in Jane's grandfather's community garden. Like good gardeners, they choose their site carefully, plant the seeds and tend to them. The waiting is tough but the girls fill their summer days with cycling and swimming until one day "A bright orange-and-black butterfly was fluttering flower to flower." With new watching and waiting, the girls see an egg become a caterpillar and then a chrysalis.

From A Long Way Home by Jean Little, illus. by Gabrielle Grimard

Though they are anxious for the butterfly to emerge from the chrysalis and Jane considers helping it get out, they have learned that it will appear when it is strong enough to begin its long journey. It is then that Maya reveals that she knows about long journeys. And when the butterfly does emerge and the girls send it off with hearty goodbyes, anticipating its arduous migration to Mexico, Maya bravely discloses that she and her family traveled a long way over many years to escape hardships that threatened their lives. Her own experiences give them hope that their butterflies and others, including those they might save the following year, will arrive safely to their destination just as Maya did.

From A Long Way Home by Jean Little, illus. by Gabrielle Grimard

For many lovers of Canadian children's books, Jean Little is a legend. When she passed in 2020, there was a great sense of loss for her relentless spirit and for any new books, resplendent in their compassion and heart-warming plots. With A Long Way Home, we get Jean Little back for a little while in this story that parallels the plight of the monarch butterfly with that of an immigrant family. While A Long Way Home will be a useful book for teaching STEM with its emphasis on the butterfly's life cycle, it goes beyond the science and evokes compassion for those who must escape troubling worlds and find refuge elsewhere and far away, often after much waiting. But in her inimitable style, Jean Little juxtaposes the story of the butterfly and of Maya's family without being too obvious or deliberate, letting young readers find the connection themselves, so they might understand what both have had to endure.

Gabrielle Grimard's artwork, which has graced many picture books including The Library Bus (2020), Stolen Words (2017), and  Not My Girl (2014), uses a mix of watercolours, gouache and oil to create warm and inviting scenes of children learning, playing and gardening. Her children are very real, with their fly-away hair, joyful camaraderie, and empathetic demeanours, and their efforts to help the monarch butterfly are just as honest. 

A Long Way Home is a triumphant story of a friendship born of acceptance for differences, of a compulsion to learn and help a threatened species, and of journeys taken. Moreover, with A Long Way Home, we are graced once more with a story from Jean Little whose vision is given colour and shape by Gabrielle Grimard. How wonderful for all young readers.

Lili Macaroni

Written by Nicole Testa

Illustrated by Annie Boulanger

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-093-2

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

August 2019

It's too bad that school, a place of opportunity and learning, can be such a stressful experience for some young children. In fact, it can cause so much anxiety that they need to develop coping strategies to get through. That's a problem with the system, not the child, though it is difficult to see the troubles as anything but internal and very personal. Fortunately for Lili, she learns something about making things tolerable for herself and helps out others in the process.

From Lili Macaroni by Nicole Testa, illus. by Annie Boulanger

Lili can see her family in her hair, in her freckles, her eyes and her laughter. Her joie de vivre fills her days with love and imaginative play. When Lili is old enough to go to school, she looks forward to learning and meeting new friends. She does learn much, including about butterflies and moths. But when her new friends make fun of her last name, calling her Lili Macaroni-and-cheese, and her hair, eyes, freckles and laugh, Lili's joy begins to leak from her.

Why didn't Mom, Dad, Grandma, or Grandpa tell me that it wasn't good to be Lili Macaroni?

From Lili Macaroni by Nicole Testa, illus. by Annie Boulanger

Though she'd always said "I am the way I am," Lili is now envisioning herself as a dark-haired girl with no freckles. But Sophia is not her.

From Lili Macaroni by Nicole Testa, illus. by Annie Boulanger

Her dad suggests she draw one of her lovely polka-dotted butterflies to "help fly the heartache away." Clipping it to her shoulder, Lili feels the weight of the teasing leave her. It's a strategy she shares with her teacher who in turn shares Lili's butterfly solution with all her students.

From Lili Macaroni by Nicole Testa, illus. by Annie Boulanger

Teasing can be playful but it can also be bullying and very young children don't always know when one has become the other. In the mean while, there are little ones like Lili who must endure humiliating comments about their physical appearance and then wish they were anyone other than themselves. Fortunately, author Nicole Testa surrounds Lili with some very astute adults who recognize the little girl's need to feel good about being herself. Without hoovering up her bad feelings or demanding the school take action, they allow Lili to make her coping strategy work for her.  It's positive and it's empowering.

Quebec illustrator Annie Boulanger, who illustrated Nicole Testa's French-language Lili Macaroni: Je suis comme je suis! (Dominique et compagnie, 2017), gives Lili all the attributes the text imbues her with. She's a little wild, a lot of fun, and a whole lot of smart. She's colourful and inquisitive and enthusiastic. But when she' sad, the light is gone from her eyes and her clothing and the page.

From Lili Macaroni by Nicole Testa, illus. by Annie Boulanger

For young children going off to school for the first time, Lili Macaroni will help prepare them to recognize teasing that is insensitive and harmful and help them handle it for themselves as well as for others.

The Caterpillar Woman

by Nadia Sammurtok

Illustrated by Carolyn Gan

Inhabit Media

978-1-77227-083-9

32 pp.

Ages 7-10

2016

Piujuq was a beautiful woman who loved to dance with the butterflies by the lake. One day she meets a woman with glowing, green-tinged skin who introduces herself as Tarraq and admits she has become lost and separated from her camp.  Wearing only a thin jacket of strange material, Tarraq shivers with cold and asks Piujuq if they could trade coats, to which the kindly Piujuq agrees.  Soon after the stranger leaves, Piujuq realizes her hair has become spiny and her skin has transformed, becoming prickly and fuzzy and green. Not wanting to frighten her family, Piujuq wanders the land before secluding herself in an abandoned tent.

When three men, on a search for wives, come across her, she offers them tea and mends their ripped clothing.  Though she is saddened when they leave, knowing she was not beautiful enough to become one of their wives, one of the men, an older man named Amaruq, returns and declares that she is very kind and he would like to have her as his wife.  The two fall in love and make a good life together, each caring for the other.  When Piujuq asks him to make a drum so that she might once again dance with the butterflies, Amaruq finds an abandoned drumbeater that makes magical music, ultimately transforming both husband and wife.

From The Caterpillar Woman 

by Nadia Sammurtok

illus. by Carolyn Gan

Inuit writer Nadia Sammurtok has written The Caterpillar Woman as a traditional Inuit tale. The legend which has a moral or message about seeing beyond skin-deep beauty is steeped in Inuit traditions from parkas to drums but with the supernatural element of a caterpillar woman and a magical drumbeater. Though the transformation of Piujuq to a caterpillar woman may be somewhat frightening, and Australian artist Carolyn Gan does this creepiness very well, it is Piujuq’s kindness and the inner beauty both she and Amaraq see in each other that uplifts the story to one of magic.  It’s a story of redemption, though had Piujuq and Amaruq never been transfigured to beautiful and youthful, The Caterpillar Woman would still have had a happy ending and a lesson in seeing beyond superficial appearances.

From The Caterpillar Woman 

by Nadia Sammurtok 

illus. by Carolyn Gan