How to Raise Monarch Butterflies

Gr 4 Up—The monarch butterflies that hatch in the early summer live for two to three weeks, and a female can lay between 400 and 500 eggs. Collecting these eggs or the newly hatched caterpillars and providing them with milkweed leaves-their main food-can help increase the number of late summer and early fall monarchs that live for eight or nine months and make the autumn migration to Mexico. This breezy and down-to-earth text ("greenish poops-called frass") presents mostly generalizations but nicely communicates the wonder of the transformative nature of this species. Especially effective is the eight-picture depiction of the development of the caterpillar into a chrysalis. The full-color photographs are crisp and sharp for the most part and illustrate the life cycle of the monarch and the many tasks that have to be done to ensure that the caterpillars thrive and become butterflies. This work-intensive activity might be better suited to students in a classroom than an individual at home. With so many similar books about the life cycle of the monarch and related crafts and activities, this title becomes an additional purchase.—Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA