Traveling Butterflies

Shingu follows Wandering Whale Sharks with a quiet look at the life cycle of a monarch butterfly, from a tiny egg to its emergence from a chrysalis: “Her new wings look like stained glass.” Solid backgrounds in white, gray and piercing shades of blue provide maximum contrast to the butterflies’ trademark orange wings, making for some dramatic moments. Migrating south, the butterflies hover over a waterfall, city rooftops, and villages; in a southern forest, they mate and “slumber in peace,” clustering in honeycomblike formations. Shingu’s economical yet poetic language is well-suited to the sparseness of his images, and a closing note discusses the mystery of how monarchs know to fly the same route year after year. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)