This page documents the standard upon which the decision of “Best Butterfly Books for Kids” has been made. The list, “Best Butterfly Books for Kids,” is based on the results of scoring each of five criterion with a bonus against a set of fourteen (14) kid’s books about butterflies.
The criteria questions were asked while reading the book for at least the second time, so as not to distract from each book’s first impression.
The 14 books were found for sale on Amazon.com, among hundreds of kids books related to butterflies.
These 14 were chosen, and purchased, because they seemed like they might be “The Best Butterfly Books for Kids” based on description, marketing, and/or media as presented on Amazon.
Links to the books as sold on Amazon are for your convenience, and do not offer “The Best Butterfly Books for Kids” any commission or profit-share.
Merri only wants kids to have “The Best Butterfly Books for Kids.”
Each criterion will be scored individually with an integer value from zero (0) to three (3), where 3 is the highest possible score and 0 is the lowest possible score.
The following contains each score’s “legalese” (along with a batting analogy)
0 – No evidence of criteria being met (Strike Out)
1 – Minimal evidence of criteria being met (Walk)
2 – Strong evidence of criteria being met (Base Hit)
3 – Criteria fully met (Home Run)
The following five (5) questions make up the criteria used to choose “The Best Butterfly Books for Kids.”
A lower score would be given for a book using butterflies to teach other subjects, such as math or words. Not that Merri disagrees with having a math or vocabulary book with butterflies as a subject. But she can’t give out “The Best Butterfly Book for Kids” award to a math book.
A higher score is given if the book does teach about endangered butterflies, especially the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) found across most of North America. More regionally endangered butterflies will get an above average score, non-threatened butterflies a more average score, and so on.
Is the author’s publication part of a “portfolio” of efforts to help butterflies, especially those that are endangered? Or is it “yet another subject” by an author as part of a more cookie-cutter approach to publication?
Education is the most expensive portion of any effort to restore endangered species. Does the book actually convey how the butterfly lifecycle works? On the dependence of specific Larval Host Plants? Is the site ecology considered? Are interruptions to the normal lifecycle includes as well? Predators, diseases, human impact, etc.?
Does it inspire or educate kids to do something to help butterflies? Do kids learn they can do something to help?
Merri believes “The Best Butterfly Books for Kids” will certainly have a strong call to action for kids of all ages. She believes that action is for kids to build the native ecology around their butterflies.
Most specifically, does it inform that Milkweed (Asclepias) is needed for the endangered Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)?
Nothing is more critical to the Monarch Butterfly than the Milkweed. Most butterflies also rely on specific larval host plants in order to make more butterflies. This simple fact is difficult to disseminate, and “The Best Butterfly Books for Kids” will definitely include this knowledge.
No Larval Host Plants = No Butterflies
A bonus for Creativity is also given to each book. A score from one (1) to three (3) is added based on how creatively the book inspires kids to love and save the endangered Monarch Butterfly.
All books are given a Creative Bonus score; no books are given a zero (0) for their Creative Bonus.
As an example, let’s score The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle, using the same scoring system used by “The Best Butterfly Books for Kids.”
The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been a very popular kid’s book for more than 50 years. But it is more about a caterpillar than it is about a butterfly, which is why it was not included in the original 14 candidates for “The Best Butterfly Books for Kids.” This is also what makes it an interesting example to follow Merri’s scoring system.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is still one of the top kid’s books of all time, no matter what score it gets relative to “The Best Butterfly Books for Kids.” This book was chosen specifically as an example of the scoring system and is not a judgement of The Very Hungry Caterpillar outside of the realm of butterflies.
This book is more about hungry caterpillars than it is about butterflies, but he does become a butterfly.
We apologize unreservedly to Mr. Carle, and his family. Nevertheless, he scores a zero on butterfly or endangered species activism.
Further, having owned land on Key Largo, Florida, he likely helped decimate the larval host plant for the endangered Schaus’ Swallowtail (Heraclides aristodemus ponceanus) and forage for the endangered Florida Key Deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium).
To his credit, he did start The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Merri does consider Picture Book Artists to be a kind of endangered species.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar does demonstrate the butterfly lifecycle. He starts as an egg (check), he’s a hungry cat (check), he builds a chrysalis (check), and finally emerges as a butterfly to start again (check).
Not quite a Home Run, but certainly meets the requirements.
Its hard to tell what is expected of the reader after having read The Very Hungry Caterpillar. To learn to count? Name fruits? Colors? Learn the days of the week? Not to eat junk food? Yes, all of those.
Does it engage the reader to do something for the hungry caterpillar? To help? To cure? To fix? To find? Not really. Maybe its using subliminal messages to get people to save caterpillars, but there’s no indication caterpillars or butterflies are at risk. The Very Hungry Caterpillar doesn’t seem to lack food since it sees to eat anything it finds. It also seems like there’s lots of time available to figure it out later, since he spent a whole week eating junk food that upset his stomach, and still had a couple more weeks available before he needed to become a butterfly.
Real caterpillars are closer to lumberjacks in their work, each move calculated, safety ropes in use, huge leaves being chopped, entire stalks being stripped and consumed as if a huge straw of latex milk.
Unfortunately, what makes this book so adorable and cute is what really kills its score when considered as one of “The Best Butterfly Books for Kids.” This caterpillar has no idea what to eat. In fact, he never quite learns, except it seems to be one random leaf.
The fact remains, there is usually only one type of plant that will function as a larval host plant for each different butterfly. Without that one type of plant, that one type of butterfly will not be able to procreate.
A Butterfly can only lay eggs on its Larval Host Plant
A Caterpillar can only eat its Larval Host Plant
No Larval Host Plant = No Very Hungry Caterpillars. No points.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar deserves a bonus Creative Bonus. Four points, which is not even possible!
Everyone loves this book and for good reason. Not only is the artwork rich and colorful, the author’s mind generated it during what was probably the very boring job of punching holes in paper.. even before computers and cell phones! Bravo!
With its Creative Bonus included, The Very Hungry Caterpillar earns a grand total of 7. This score is still lower than any of the 14 candidates for “The Best Butterfly Books for Kids,” none of whom were given a Creative Bonus of 4.
Merri believes this simply demonstrates the strength of the books in her list, “The Best Butterfly Books for Kids.”
The scoring system, as found and demonstrated above, was used for each of the 14 kids books selected to participate.
Each book could earn a possible 15 points.
With the bonus included in the total, five different books (36%) earned a perfect 15 or higher!
Including the Creative Bonus, one book even earned the ultimate score of 18!
Eleven out of the total fourteen books (78%) earned a total score of at least 10 points!
The 14 books had a mean score of 12.78 and a median score of 12.5, which means they are all very well-above average butterfly books!
Each book was purchased online, and read upon shipment. Scoring was done on each book’s second read-through. Finally, the Creative Bonus was given on the third time through each book.
The official results make up the “Top 10,” with the remaining four (4) earning “Honorable Mention”, for a total of 14 of “The Best Butterfly Books for Kids“.