My Butterfly Bouquet by Nicola Davies Illustrated by Hannah Peck
Wren and Rook ISBN 978152636131-8 £6.99
Nicola Davies is well respected for her many books introducing young readers to the natural world and here she explains, through story, about the importance as well as the beauty of butterflies. A little girl is recovering from a hospital stay in the depths of winter, with little outside to cheer her, but her dad has the inspired idea of taking her to a butterfly farm and through their conversation we learn effortlessly about the natural history of the butterfly; for example that their erratic flight makes them difficult to catch, that some are camouflaged when they land whilst others have warning patterns against predators. The girl and her father go home to plant their own garden designed to attract butterflies and as it grows so she gets better. At the back of the book is information for how we can also plant a butterfly garden and about the butterfly life cycle. The hardback version of the book has useful endpapers naming the many butterflies that crowd its pages but sadly this is not included in the paperback edition.
Pam Dowson