Monarch and Milkweed
By Helen Frost; Leonid Gore (Illustrator)
(Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Hardcover, 9781416900856, 40pp.)
Publication Date: March 4, 2008
Categories: Animals - Insects, Spiders, etc., Science & Nature - Biology
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One of nature's most perfect relationships
Every spring the monarch butterfly migrates thousands of miles in search of the ideal milkweed plant. When she finds it, she lays her eggs on the plant, so when each egg hatches, the baby caterpillar can feed on the milkweed leaves. The milkweed plant then provides the perfect protection as the caterpillar turns into one of nature's wonders, a chrysalis, before transforming into an even greater wonder: a monarch butterfly. And once the newborn butterfly soars away, the milkweed seeds fly away on the wind and start this cycle over again.
The exacting prose and jewel-toned illustrations echo the harmony of monarch and milkweed in this carefully researched book, explaining one of nature's most spectacular displays in a refreshingly simple manner.
Leonid Gore moved to the U.S. from his native Russia in 1991. He has illustrated The Sugar Child, The Malachite Palace, Sleeping Boy, Who Was Born This Special Day?, The Secret of the Great Houdini, The Princess Mouse, and, most recently, Saints Among the Animals for Atheneum. He is also the author and illustrator of Danny's First Snow. Mr. Gore lives with his wife and daughter in Oakland, New Jersey, where monarchs are occasionally sighted.











