Annotated Bibliography
Integrated Literacy Unit over Butterflies for First Grade
Picture books
Thomas, Cristine. A Butterfly for Brittany. Brittany's Books, 2001
This is a very sad book about a little girl who is about to lose her cousin and best
friend to cancer. She asks her aunt everyday if Brittany will be getting her wings
today and go to heaven, her aunt tells her it is up to the angels. Megan decides to
draw her cousin a picture of a butterfly with beautiful wings just in time for Brittany
to take with her to heaven.
Madison, Alan. Hawkes, Kevin. Velma Gratch and the way cool butterfly. Random House
Childrens Books, 2007
Velma starts first grade with a difficult time. Everyone remembers her two older
sisters who were perfect and Velma is not. When the class takes a field trip to a
butterfly conservatory. A monarch roosts on her finger and wont move for days. No
one will ever forget her now.
Edwards, Pamela. Cole Henry. Clara Caterpillar. HarperCollins, 2004
Clara is a clever caterpillar who became a common cream colored butterfly. She
does not think she can compete with Catisha because she is a beautiful crimson
colored butterfly.
Howe, James. Young, Ed. I Wish I Were a Butterfly. Harcourt Trade, 1987
All the crickets were playing and having fun at the pond except for the littlest
cricket. He struggles with identity and wishes he could be a butterfly. He asks for
help from his friend who helps him feel better about himself.
Poetry
Harley, Avis. The Monarch's Progress: Poems With Wings. Boyds Mills Press, 2008
This is a poem about how a butterfly uses its feet to get nectar and the sweet taste.
It asks questions about if we were to use our feet to eat and what it would taste like
Volavkova, Hana. I Never Saw Another Butterfly. Schocken Books Inc. 1993
This is a variety of poems written by children during the Holocaust. These children
knew they may never leave this horrible place or see the beautiful parts of nature
again. One child wrote about the only thing that was beautiful in her camp was the
dandelions, but she would never see another butterfly.
Moss, Jeff. The Butterfly Jar. Bantam Book, 1989
This is a rhyming poetry book for young children. It is a fun cute book with many
poems about butterflies, they are small and easy for young children to read and
follow.
Novel
Nichols, John. The Milagro Beanfield War. Macmillan, 2000
Joe Mondragon is a spirited hustler who has a talent for getting in trouble, he
wrecked his truck, tugged on his gumboots, and marched into the arid patch of
ground. He carefully, tapped into the main irrigation channel. This began the
Milagro beanfield war, however, many did not know at the time. This war was
fought in the town of Milagro and was considered a patchwork war fought mostly by
tactical retreats rather than battlefield victories.
Fiction
Pearson, Carol. Consider the Butterfly: Transforming Your Life Through Meaningful
Coincidence. Gibbs Smith, 2002
Carol Lynn Pearson writes about her daughter’s funeral when eight butterflies
appear on the computer screen bringing a message of hope for her. This story talks
about the coincidences that happen in our everyday lives and the meanings in which
they bring.
Bunting, Eve. Butterfly House. Scholastic Press, 1999
A little girl rescues a caterpillar from a hungry jay bird and she and her grandfather
build a butterfly home for it. She watches as the caterpillar transforms and
eventually becomes a butterfly. She is sad as she knows she has to let the butterfly
go. Every year hundreds of butterflies return to her garden.
Carle, Eric. TheVery Hungry Caterpillar. New York: Philomel Books, 1987
This could be a poetry of a fiction book about a caterpillar who eats an apple one
day and the next day he eats two fruits and so on. At the end of the book he is sick to
his stomach from eating so much. He is now ready to become a butterfly.
Hines, Anna Grossnickle. Miss Emma's Wild Garden. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1997
A young girl goes to visit a family friend while she is gardening in her garden. While
she is there she meets new animals including butterflies and she asks her friend
many questions about them.
Sundgaard, Arnold. The Lamb and The Butterfly. New York: Orchard Books/Watts, 1988
This is a story about a young lamb and a butterfly who are friends. They have a
discussion about their different ways of living and the differences between the two
of them.
Sandved, Kjell. The Butterfly Alphabet. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1996
This book has different beautiful butterflies on each page and has a fun little saying
on each page with a letter behind it and highlights the word using that letter. It has
beautiful pictures of butterfly wings with letters and numbers from the alphabet.
Non-Fiction
Fischer-Nagel, Heiderose. Life of the Butterfly. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Carolrhoda Books,
1987
This book begins with the physical characteristics, habits, and behaviors of some
butterflies. It also lists and talks about the different species of butterflies.
Hogan, Paul. The Life Cycle of the Butterfly. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Raintree Publishers,
1979
This book shows how a butterfly transforms throughout its life starting as an egg
and eventually becoming a butterfly. This book shows how butterflies live and the
exciting travels they go through.
Frost, Helen. Monarch Butterflies. Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Press,1999
This is an interesting book about facts of the monarch butterfly. It talks about how
they use the wind to travel and how they eat, and other facts about their short lives.
Julivert, Angels. The Facinating World of Butterflies and Moths. New York: Barrons, 1991
This is an introduction to the different physical characteristics of the different types
of butterflies and where they live and how they survive.
Legg, Gerald. From Caterpillar to Butterfly. : Franklin Watts, 1998
The caterpillar goes through his life as a small caterpillar and eventually turns into a
beautiful butterfly.
Cutts, David. Look...a Butterfly. Mahwah, New Jersey: Troll Associates, 1982
This book follows a butterfly throughout his life from egg to caterpillar, to cocoon, to
eventually a beautiful butterfly.