Traveling Butterflies
by Susumu Shingu (Author/Illustrator)
Booktalk: Monarch butterfly migration is one of nature’s great mysteries. How do monarchs manage to fly some 2,500 miles from Canada and the northern United States south to Mexico? How do they trace a route they’ve never flown and reach the same destination their ancestors once found? See a monarch’s progression from an egg the size of a dewdrop through growth, metamorphosis, and preparation for their journey south to winter in Mexico before they return north in the spring.
Snippet:
One day in the short summer of a country up north,
TURN THE PAGE
a tiny creature wakes up inside
an egg as small as a dewdrop.
Six Traits Mini Lesson
Traits: Organization The book begins with a single sentence. The first part of the sentence appears on the first double paged spread (2 facing book pages). Here the setting in introduced.
One day in the short summer of a country up north,
After the page is turned, readers meet the main character:
a tiny creature wakes up inside
an egg as small as a dewdrop.
A story begins when something changes. That change is called the inciting incident. What changes here?
a tiny creature wakes up
Traits: Word Choice The words in this opening sentence provide specific details for the reader.
One day
in the short summer
of a country up north,
TURN THE PAGE
a tiny creature
wakes up
inside an egg
as small as a dewdrop.
The simile at the end adds a poetic touch.
Copyright © 2015 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.