Butterfly Park

K-Gr 2—A nameless girl is sad to leave the butterflies when her family moves from a rural house to the city. Luckily, her new house is next door to Butterfly Park, but she finds the park barren of butterflies. She enlists the help of other children to catch butterflies and bring them to the park, but they always fly away again. Chasing the stubborn insects, the children realize that flowers will attract them, and they all pitch in to replant the park. The story concludes happily with a beautified park and the girl feeling right at home. The text of this story is its weakest element, while the artwork shines. The plot is standard picture book fare, but the writing is vague, awkward, and a bit coy. The 3-D "lightbox dioramas," on the other hand, are beautifully creative and atmospheric. Painted paper figures are placed into constructed scenery, lit dramatically, and photographed. Each page glows with jewel tones, and the final spread is a gatefold that displays the neighborhood's proud transformation. As a bonus, the book's dust jacket has a "Plant your own butterfly garden" poster printed on the inside, showing flowers that will attract butterflies.