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Summary
Summary
Little ones will hover over this colorful look at insect critters as they peek through die-cuts and enjoy a final pop-up surprise.
Lucy sees a beautiful butterfly in the garden, along with a bright green beetle, a brilliant blue dragonfly, some red ladybugs, and many more flying and crawling things. But when will the radiant butterfly appear again? Petr Horácek uses his trademark saturated hues and simple shapes to create an enticing view of the world of colors --and a peekaboo look at the slow-paced life abuzz in the backyard garden.
Author Notes
Petr Horácek is an illustrator and painter who trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and worked as a graphic designer before beginning to create children's books. He now lives in Worcester, England.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-On a glorious day, a young girl spots a beautiful butterfly and gleefully chases it around the garden. The next day, she can't find it, but she discovers an array of wonderful creatures. In the end, her butterfly reappears, popping up from the pages. Hor ek's acrylic illustrations are reminiscent of the work of Eric Carle. This simple story is partnered with bold, vibrant illustrations that jump off the page. Though the story is quite spare, youngsters will love the large, bright, textured pictures and die-cut pages.-Linda Zeilstra Sawyer, Skokie Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
An engaging read that stimulates the senses, this title will titillate young imaginations with lively and entertaining pictures and words. From the get-go, the story brims with vibrant energy, as a girl chases after a butterfly in her backyard garden. She returns the next day hoping to find her playmate again-only it is nowhere to be found. Instead, a cornucopia of colorful insects dominates the scene. Like the butterfly, they too are active creatures, and are associated with strong verbs such as "buzzing," "slithering" and "scurrying." Hor cek's (Silly Suzy Goose) well-executed die-cuts include a cheery family of ladybugs (with a die-cut within a die-cut providing the requisite spots) and a trio of voracious earthworms whose faces derive from a fern-like plant on an earlier page. The array of vibrant insects captures the girl's attention, and before long, it appears she can hardly remember the butterfly. But lest readers worry that these other insects have usurped the butterfly's place in her heart-and the storyline-a larger than life pop-up of the title character provides a dramatic ending, practically leaping off the pages and delighting the girl (and most likely, kids as well). This story soars with energy and proves that, indeed, good things come to those who wait. Ages 3-5. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Preschool) While playing in a walled garden, Lucy chases after a large rainbow-colored butterfly. The next day, Lucy can't find the butterfly, but her search reveals a pink earthworm, brown spider, green beetle, and so forth -- eight colors and animals in all. With his painted paper collages and sturdy die-cut pages, Horacek is bound to be compared to Eric Carle, but his saturated colors and occasional use of additional media make Butterfly, Butterfly feel more impulsive and passionate than Carle's books. Still, the die-cut holes showing glimpses of the next animal and color reveal plenty of careful planning as, for example, the spiral of a young fern on one spread becomes a snail's shell on the next. On the penultimate spread, Lucy, exhausted from her hunt, lies on her back surrounded by the other eight animals, tiny against their vast green and brown surroundings. ""Then high in the sky..."" [page turn] ""there it was..."" And -- surprise! -- our earthbound perspective flies up, revealing Lucy in the garden looking up at a large pop-up butterfly hovering above the page. Mixing suspense and predictability in a way that should prove as satisfying on multiple visits as it does on the first read, this concept book only seems simple. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A little girl's study of a butterfly leads her to discover many other tiny creatures. Lucy spots a brightly colored butterfly perched on a tall flower, and follows it around all day. The next day she can't find it anywhere, but her search turns up a pink earthworm, a brown spider, a green beetle, a family of ladybugs, a purple caterpillar, etc. Lucy lies down in the grass to wait, and she and the reader both get a pleasant surprise: Her colorful butterfly appears, in a giant pop-up! The subtitle on the cover identifies this as "A Book of Colors," and indeed the author's bold acrylics nearly jump off the page. In addition to the pop-up, there are a series of die-cuts throughout; the back of a ladybug becomes a part of Lucy's polka-dot dress and, when that page is turned, those dots/holes turns the orange shell of a snail into caterpillar heads. Simple, concise text should make this accessible for young readers. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A little girl spies a colorful butterfly and plays with it in the garden. The following day, she finds only a pink worm, a brown spider, a green beetle, a family of red ladybugs, an orange snail, three purple caterpillars, a blue dragonfly, and a yellow bee. She lies down in the grass to wait and, suddenly, the butterfly flies into view. The story is a simple one, but this picture book is visually pleasing in so many ways. Children will be intrigued by the die-cut holes in some of the illustrations and, most of all, by the large butterfly (the sole pop-up element in the book) that springs outward toward the reader from the last full spread. The sometimes thickly layered acrylic paint creates interesting lines and textures in the artwork, which results in a richer experience than can be found in most picture books about colors. A playful, rewarding choice for reading aloud. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2007 Booklist
