Butterflies and Moths

Butterflies and Moths
By Nic Bishop
Scholastic
Copyright 2009
pp.48

Butterflies and Moths

Required

        This amazingly visual nonfiction book is a must for every classroom doing a thematic unit on butterflies. Besides the photographs which are absolutely fantastic, the author uses various fonts within each page to grab the reader’s attention. I also loved turning each page and finding a new, colorful background on each one. Mr. Bishop does a wonderful job of using academic vocabulary along with common vocabulary to enhance student understanding. An example of this is when he compares the butterflies and moths to an item with which students would be familiar, such as comparing nectar to an energy drink.
   I had to chuckle at the thought of reading his descriptions of caterpillars on page 18 to a classroom full of students. I am sure students would have no problem visualizing these descriptions. I believe many students will also connect to the information about a caterpillar’s appetite to the book the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, as I did. This is a terrific book to use for varying reading strategies such as questioning, predicting, and summarizing. Nic Bishop is definitely an author to remember for breathtaking, nonfiction texts.