Traveling Butterflies

travelingbutterflies

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.

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