Waiting for Wings

Waiting for Wings. written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert. 40p. 2001. New York: Harcourt Publishing. (0152026088).

Medium: cut paper

Author/Illustrator Website: none

Awards and Honors: School Librarians Book Award, 2001, ABC Children's Booksellers Choice, 2002

Annotation:
A beautifully illustrated tale of metamorphosis by Lois Ehlert.

Personal Reaction:
With rhyming couplets and beautiful cut-paper illustrations, Ehlert tells the story of metamorphosis- a caterpillar's miraculous transformation into a butterfly.

This gorgeous, oversized book depicts the action with a series of half sized pages that line up with the larger spread to show the caterpillar's transformation. After the butterfly hatches, the readers is treated to pages of butterflies flitting between bright and vibrant flowers. It's the perfect subject matter for Ehlert's bold and colorful cut-paper illustration technique.

The back material includes butterfly and flower identification pages, instructions on growing a butterfly garden, and additional information about the lives of butterflies.

Metamorphosis is a natural process that never fails to captivate children's attention. Of the many, many books on the topic, Waiting for Wings is likely the most beautiful, as well as the best for young children.