Waiting for Wings

Absolutely. This book fosters development of processes of observation, prediction, description, and classification. The author creates beautiful illustrations of both flowers and the life cycle of a butterfly, which gives students the opportunity to observe these creations. They can discuss the colors of the butterflies, flowers, and plants. They can also observe and talk about the shapes used. There are many places where the teacher can stop in this book and ask his or her students to predict what will happen next (ex: What do you think will be in the eggs? Why do you think the caterpillars need to find a place where the wind doesn’t blow? What will they do there? Where do you think the butterflies will fly? How will they know how to get there?). Also the index at the back of the book provides a great opportunity for students to classify different flowers and butterflies as well as describe them.

Author: Louis Ehlert
Illustrator: Louis Ehlert
Year Published: 2001
ISBN: 9780152026080

Summary

This book follows the life cycle of a butterfly starting at the egg phase all the way to the transformation into butterflies. The author follows the butterflies as they seek out flowers for feeding and all the way until they lay eggs and the cycle starts over. Great index for butterflies and flowers at the very back of the book.

Evaluation

Appropriateness: High
Authority: Medium
Accuracy: High
Liteary Artistry: High
Appearance: High

Questions

Does the book foster development of processes?

Does the book provide an opportunity for children to ask and answer their own questions?

Yes! Students could ask questions about the life cycle and then see them be answered in following pages. For example if a students asked, “What is going to hatch out of the egg that we can’t see?” The following page would help them understand that a caterpillar hatches from the eggs. Just like this moment, there are many other opportunities for children to ask and answer their own questions in this book.

Does the book encourage children to think for themselves?

This book does encourage children to think for themselves although this encouragement is implied or prompted by the teacher. The author made this book so that answers to prompts would not be answered until the following page so this leaves room for children to think for themselves. For example, one page says, “out in the fields eggs are hidden from view.” This could create all kinds of questions and thinking for students (why are the eggs hidden from view, what are in the eggs, how big are the eggs, etc.), so yes I would say this this book encourages children to think for themselves. Also the types of plants, flowers, and butterflies on each page are not disclosed until the end when you look at the index so this can create thinking for students as they try and figure out what kinds of creations are on the page.

Is the science topic addressed in ways that are appropriate to the lesson?

Yes, the content being addressed is appropriate to the lesson.

Is the content based on sound scientific principles? Is it accurate?

For the most part this book is accurate and based on sound scientific principle. The author follows the life cycle of a butterfly from the egg stage to a hatching caterpillar to the caterpillar making a cocoon (although the author just refers to this as a "case" to keep with the rhythmic style of the book), to the butterfly breaking out of it’s cocoon and flying to find flowers to feed on, and finally to these butterflies laying their own eggs. The only thing I would say that the author leaves out is some science vocabulary (like calling the cocoon a "case") and some more description. For example, how long is a caterpillar in a cocoon? How does the butterfly find flowers to feed on? For the most part, the information provided is accurate, I would just say that some more description would be good.

Does the book distinguish between fact and fiction?

There is no fiction in this book so there is no need to distinguish between the two.

Are the illustrations clear and accurate?

Yes. The illustrations are gorgeous. They are colorful and take up the whole page. The author creates different kinds of butterflies and plants using incredible colors, shapes and sizes. Using all of these components (size, shape, and color), he creates a variety of plants, flowers, and butterflies for the reader to observe and experience. The illustrations in this book are my favorite part; I have to own this book.

Is the book written at the level of your students?

In this hypothetical lesson, this book is on level for my students because I would be teaching kids K-2nd. But in reality, it is actually written a couple levels below the students in my placement class. However the illustrations are so beautiful I think I would have it in my classroom even if I had students above grade 2.

Is there a multicultural component? Is it free from stereotyping?

There is no multicultural component because the author is discussing nature, simply flowers and butterflies, so there are no cultures represented. There is also no stereotyping because of this.

Is the book free from gender bias?

This book is free from gender bias because there are no humans (female or male) present in this book.

Does the book show the close association between science and other disciplines?

There is not much association between science and other disciplines in this book. Other than the connection between science and nature and science and classification (using the butterfly and flower index at the back of the book), there is not much association between science and other disciplines.

Does the book present a positive attitude toward science and technology?

There is no connection between science and technology in this book so it does not create a positive attitude or a negative attitude toward science and technology. However it does create a positive attitude toward butterflies and flowers because this is the science being discussed!

Science Topics

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Maximum Suggested Grade Level