Traveling Butterflies

Monarch butterfly migration is one of nature’s great mysteries. How do monarchs manage to fly some 2,500 miles from Canada and the northern United States south to Mexico? How do they trace a route they’ve never flown and reach the same destination their ancestors once found?

Traveling Butterflies indulges the awe these creatures inspire by taking a poetic, meditative look at the monarch’s life cycle. In a lyrical voice that seamlessly blends fact and storytelling, the book zooms in to show a monarch’s progression from an egg the size of a dewdrop through growth, metamorphosis, and preparation for their journey south.

Rich illustrations in a vibrant color palette bring the butterflies to life and depict the rural and urban landscapes through which they fly. Rounded out with a page of factual text about monarchs and their migration, this informational picture book will leave readers equal parts informed and entranced.

Susumu Shingu, an internationally known sculptor and architect, creates works that move with the natural energy of wind and water. Owlkids Books published his picture book Wandering Whale Sharks in Spring 2015.