An invitation to the butterfly ball: A counting rhyme
by Jane Yolen, Jane Breskin Zalben (Illustrator)
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All the invited animals, from one little mouse to ten little porcupines, busily prepare to attend the Butterfly Ball.Tags
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A catchy, clever and charming counting rhyme with delightfully delicate illustrations. But it really doesn't do to think too much about the fact that each and every creature in the book is suffering terrible social anxiety about the upcoming Butterfly Ball. The mouse is "in great distress" about her inability to find a proper dress, the other animals equally at a loss for formal wear are "sad', "heaving sighs", "mournful", or even fighting over scarce finery. Not one is actually looking forward to the celebration. Basically it's conveying what Professor David C. Davis, originator of the Lewis Carroll Shelf Awards, would have called a "universal" that dress - superficial appearances - are all-important and worth anguish or conflict. I show more love the book, but reading it aloud to my grandchildren would threaten my sanity! show less
Summary:
An Invitation to the Butterfly Ball is a counting and rhyming book. A little elf goes through the numbers one through ten, with his friends, trying to gather everything that is needed when he receives an unexpected invitation to the Butterfly Ball. The elves friends are a mouse, moles, rabbits and skunks. At each number, the animals are faced with a challenge which they must overcome in order to gather everything that is needed before the Ball.
Review:
In this story, the author uses a repetition of the familiar phrase of "Knock-Knock" to keep the children engaged. As we arrive at each different number the children will begin to realize that the top of the page will read "Knock-Knock." Most number and counting books do not fit as show more perfectly into a story line as they do in this book. Yolen uses the literary component of rhyming words to help the story to transition between characters and numbers. Children will also be able to gain basic problem solving skills from this piece of literature. show less
An Invitation to the Butterfly Ball is a counting and rhyming book. A little elf goes through the numbers one through ten, with his friends, trying to gather everything that is needed when he receives an unexpected invitation to the Butterfly Ball. The elves friends are a mouse, moles, rabbits and skunks. At each number, the animals are faced with a challenge which they must overcome in order to gather everything that is needed before the Ball.
Review:
In this story, the author uses a repetition of the familiar phrase of "Knock-Knock" to keep the children engaged. As we arrive at each different number the children will begin to realize that the top of the page will read "Knock-Knock." Most number and counting books do not fit as show more perfectly into a story line as they do in this book. Yolen uses the literary component of rhyming words to help the story to transition between characters and numbers. Children will also be able to gain basic problem solving skills from this piece of literature. show less
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Jane Yolen was born February 11, 1939 in New York City. She received a bachelor's degree from Smith College in 1960 and a master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts in 1976. After college, she became an editor in New York City and wrote during her lunch break. She sold her first children's book, Pirates in Petticoats, at the show more age of 22. Since then, she has written over 300 books for children, young adults, and adults. Her other works include the Emperor and the Kite, Owl Moon, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and The Devil's Arithmetic. She has won numerous awards including the Kerlan Award, the Regina Medal, the Keene State Children's Literature Award, the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, two Christopher Medals, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards, the Golden Kite Award, the Jewish Book Award, the World Fantasy Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Association of Jewish Libraries Award. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Jane Breskin Zalben was born in New York City, where she attended the High School of Music and Art. She received a B.A. in art from Queens College, and then went on to study lithography at the Pratt Graphics Center. She is a well-known author and illustrator who has published about fifty books for young readers. Jane's began her career as a show more graphic designer and worked for several New York publishing houses, including Scribner's, where she was the art director of children's books. A book designer as well as an artist, she is as concerned with type and layout as she is with illustration. Ms. Zalben has been involved in many workshops, including "A Sense of Wonderment: Children's Book Illustration" at the Heckscher Museum in Huntington, New York, and exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Justin Schiller Gallery (where she was given a show of her work along with Maurice Sendak), Every Picture Tells a Story, Elizabeth Stone Gallery, Bush Gallery, and the American Institute of Graphics Art Show. Jane was a writer/artist-in-residence at Vassar's Publishing Institute and was on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts in New York City for eighteen years, where she taught courses in the illustration, design, and writing of children's books. She was a recent chair of the Society of Illustrator's The Original Art Exhibition. Zalben's acclaimed picture books and novels explore basic issues of friendship, family, self-reliance, and inner strength. Beni's First Chanukah, the first in a series of Jewish Holiday books for children, was inspired by and dedicated to her sons, Alexander and Jonathan. Jane Breskin Zalben devotes her time to her work and to traveling around the world lecturing on children's books and encouraging children and aspiring artists and writers. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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