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Señorita Mariposa
By Monica Encarnacion,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Beautiful bilingual rhyming book about a monarch's journey.
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What's the Story?
SENORITA MARIPOSA is an inspiring story about a monarch butterfly's incredible 3,000-mile migration from Canada, through the United States, to Mexico and back. Rhyming text appears in English at the top, in large print, with its Spanish translation featured in a smaller font immediately below. On some pages the languages switch prominence, displaying the Spanish text in the larger font and English in the smaller one below it. At the end of the book, an author's note in English includes facts on the round-trip journey. Author Ben Gundersheimer speaks of the '"super generation" that makes the long trek south (individual monarchs don't complete the entire round trip; during the northward migration, females lay eggs for a subsequent generation). He also explains how their migration helps our planet through pollination and makes a call to action for readers to protect monarchs, since they are slowly losing their habitats.
Is It Any Good?
This poetic bilingual story beautifully captures the journey of a monarch butterfly and shows the hardships it endures during its lifetime. Author Ben Gundersheimer's use of short rhyming sentences, and easy-to-read fonts makes this an engaging text for young readers. Señorita Mariposa is an excellent story to read with kids as an introduction to the migration of monarch butterflies and conservation. And it's a great story to share in two languages, as you can easily take turns reading with your kid in English and Spanish.
Author Ben Gundersheimer's text that reads like a love poem of admiration and respect for the millions of monarch butterflies that make this annual trek south. Almada Rivero's warm illustrations showcase all the beautiful places a monarch butterfly will travel during its 3,000 mile journey -- "over mountains capped with snow, to the deserts down below."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the butterfly life cycle and the long journey that monarch butterflies take each year from Canada to Mexico. What are some challenges that monarchs face as they travel south in Señorita Mariposa?
Start a dialogue about the importance of caring for our planet. What simple things can we do to protect the monarch butterflies? How do monarchs help the planet through pollination as they migrate?
Have you ever seen a monarch butterfly? Or other types of butterflies? Where can you find butterflies? Where do monarch butterflies live? Visit a local butterfly garden or butterfly conservatory to learn more.
Book Details
- Author: Ben Gundersheimer
- Illustrator: Marcos Almada Rivero
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: STEM , Bugs , Science and Nature
- Book type: Non-Fiction
- Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
- Publication date: August 6, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 3 - 5
- Number of pages: 32
- Available on: Hardback, iBooks
- Last updated: July 31, 2019
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