Butterflies And Moths

This is a beautifully written and photographed book about butterflies and moths. The pictures are incredible. The author's note at the end explains how he would wait days to capture the photographs. He even went on a crazy journey to Costa Rica to capture the rain forest caterpillar, which can make itself look like a snake. The author includes incredible details about moths and caterpillars that I had never heard before reading this book.

This book is sure to captivate readers as they are drawn in to the amazing close up photography Nic Bishop uses to highlight unusual and stunning specimens of the species. The text that correlates is informative and easy to read in the conversational, informal tone it is presented in. There is an index and glossary at the back of the book allowing children to utilize these resources. This would be an excellent addition to any classroom unit on animals and life cycles. I feel so fortunate to have discovered Bishop's work as an author and illustrator that I have begun building my own classroom library with some of his work.

This is an amazing book about butterflies and moths. It would be a great introduction to a unit on the creatures and also describes the life cycle perfectly. Bishop gives a great description of how hard he works to get each image at the end of the book and there is also an index and glossary to help teach about those features.

The photographs are incredible. The text is pretty darn good, too.Nic Bishop: Frogs won last year's Cybil nonfiction picture book award. Does that hurt this year's Nic Bishop entry? Or does it help it?Just a dollop:"There is no mistaking a butterfly. Its colorful wings skip in the air like petals blown by the wind. Blues, reds, and yellows dance in the sunlight. Some shimmer like tinsel."

I thought this was a great informational book. I loved the photographs that were included in this book. They were so detailed and up close; which was fun to see butterflies so up close! These photographs allow the reader to see things that you can't see with just the human eye. I also liked the simple language that the author used to provide the information. This simple language made the new material easy to understand. The big idea of this book was about the life cycles and habitats of butterflies and moths.

Review:
In this book, author Nic Bishops describes the life cycle of both moths and butterflies, both beginning and ending with the laying of eggs. Through the books he continually compares and contrasts how moths and butterflies are similar as well as the ways in which they differ.
Critique:
Overall, this book is a pretty good informational book. The zoomed in pictures create lots of interest and fascination as real-workd examples of butterflies and moths. Additionally, the other does a good job of explaining the science elements in a way that is understandable for children. However, the pages tended to be wordy, and the format of the text made it a little challenging to read.
Use:
1. This book would be a good book to have available during show more a unit on life cycle. The photography would be a good way to have kids see what the various life cycle stages look like in real-life, not just in illustrated pictures.
2. Another way to use this book would be during a lesson or unit about comparing and contrasting different animals. The book could be read aloud over the course of a week, and students could work together to determine the traits that butterflies and moths share, and the ways they are unique.
Age Appropriateness: Intermediate
Media: Photography show less

This is an informational text with real pictures. It goes through the differences between butterflies and moths, metamorphosis, fun facts and even has pages that fold out so you can see a longer pictures of butterflies transforming. Each page has a bold sentence with the key point and other supporting sentences. It is filled with beautiful, brightly colored pictures that capture your attention. I would use this when teaching a unit on metamorphosis or in a writing unit about comparing and contrasting. Students could write about comparing and contrasting moths and butterflies. I enjoyed the pictures and clearly stated information in this book.