Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

Rating: 4.5 stars

I think that Lois Ehlert is an acquired taste.  So maybe I just haven't read enough of her books?  I know that there are plenty out there--even in our small local library there are a dozen through which I've flipped a few times but, for whatever arbitrary reason, I've put back on the shelf.  Her images are somewhat Eric Carle-like, and we like him, so...what's the problem?

But this book is definitely a good, despite my lack of love for the author.  It is nonfiction; it tells the story of how caterpillars become butterflies through a nice poem and beautiful artwork.  I like that the focus is the butterflies themselves, and that the story doesn't end when they come out from the cocoon.  They fly out and "catch a whiff of something sweet. / They follow that fragrant scent of perfume, / until they find our garden in bloom."

The fact that we have several unruly butterfly bushes that are nearly trees helps make this book attractive to us.  On any given day and at any given time, we can walk out and watch four or five huge butterflies feasting on the flowers.  This book provides a little bit more information--just the right amount for a 3 year old or 4 year old--about what the butterflies are doing on our butterfly bush.  Lois Ehlert also includes that butterflies unroll their tongues to eat, so that's been fun to mimic both while we're watching our butterflies and while we're eating our own feasts.  Ben's attempts to "unroll" his tongue is pretty funny!

The other nice thing about the book: It doesn't end when the poem does.  There are two huge pages dedicated to butterfly identification, one of which included the Tiger Swallowtail that is the main feeder at our bush.  There's also one page for flower identification, with pretty pictures of all the different flowers that attract butterfly.  Sadly for us, deer are also attracted to many of them, but we still manage to squeeze in some so that our family can watch these flying beauties all summer long.

I love that there Ben and Lorelei are learning, through this book and others, about how species are unique within their own category.  That'll be the same when Lorelei starts preschool next year, so I'm glad that our butterflies and this book are teaching her that lesson a little sooner than she needs it.