Early Book Review: Monarch Butterflies: Explore the Life Journey of One of the Winged Wonders of the World by Ann Hobbie, Olga Baumert

Monarch Butterflies: Explore the Life Journey of One of the Winged Wonders of the World , written by Ann Hobbie and illustrated by Olga Baumert, is currently scheduled for release on April 27 2021. Monarchs are a favorite and familiar North American butterfly, and their incredible annual migration has captured the popular imagination for generations. As populations of monarchs decline dramatically due to habitat loss and climate change, interest in and enthusiasm for protecting these beloved pollinators has skyrocketed. With easy-to-read text and colorful, engaging illustrations, Monarch Butterflies presents young readers with rich, detailed information about the monarchs’ life cycle, anatomy, and the wonders of their signature migration, as well as how to raise monarchs at home and the cultural significance of monarchs in Day of the Dead celebrations. As the book considers how human behavior has harmed monarchs, it offers substantive ways kids can help make a positive difference. Children will learn how to turn lawns into native plant gardens, become involved in citizen science efforts such as tagging migrating monarchs and participating in population counts, and support organizations that work to conserve butterflies.

Monarch Butterflies is a well balanced non fiction picture book. The artwork is well done, ad both captures the reader's interest and supports the information text to help keep that attention. I thought the information shared was well phrased and selected, making it easy to understand and process with out being too over simplified. I was glad to see that information about both the monarch butterfly's life cycle and the trouble they are having with loss of habitat was covered, giving a well balanced understanding of what each generation of the butterfly's experience. I think this book would be good in school, classroom, and home libraries.