On the Wings of a Butterfly: A Story About Life and Death

by Marilyn Maple PhD, Sandy Haight (Illustrator), Earl A. Grollman (Afterword)

Overview

How can you explain death to a child? This uplifting story will help children who are confronting death. Meant to encourage discussion about death as a normal part of life, this book describes a young cancer patient who finds comfort in her friendship with a caterpillar. As the caterpillar prepares for transformation into a butterfly, the two share their fears and concerns about the unknown. ..". An indispensable tool for coping in the face of oncoming loss, " notes Earl A. Grollman, D.D., author of Talking about Death: A Dialogue Between Parent and Child. Now back in print in paperback as a result of hundreds of requests.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780943990682
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	01/01/1992
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	6 - 12 Years

Editorial Reviews

Lisa, who is dying of cancer, meets a talking caterpillar, which she names Sonya. The two confide in each other: the girl has had a friend die of cancer, and she is afraid; and Sonya is apprehensive about the changes she will soon undergo. When Lisa enters the hospital, her father brings her a milkweed plant--with Sonya on a leaf. As Lisa watches, Sonya becomes a chrysalis and is ``all wrapped up in her turquoise and silver world of would-be dreams.'' Such flowery language aside, this affecting story will comfort youngsters who are terminally ill or who know someone who is. Some children will be perplexed by the ending: when Lisa dies, she rises above her bed and flies away on the wings of Sonya, now a butterfly. The questions this may bring on, as well as the book's unusually small print, make this a better choice for a read-aloud than a read-alone. Haight's naturalistic pictures, though not particularly memorable, add color--and emotion--to this sad but ultimately uplifting tale. Ages 6-11. ( May )

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 1-3-- Lisa, who has cancer, is about to return to the hospital for more treatment when she finds a caterpillar who talks to her, and whom she names Sonya. Lisa's father pots the plant to which Sonya clings so that the child can have it by her bedside. As her condition deteriorates, she and the insect discuss the changes Sonya will undergo as she transforms herself into a Monarch butterfly; as Sonya emerges from her cocoon, Lisa dies. In an out-of-body state, she then leaves her grieving parents and friends and soars to join the swarm of migrating butterflies. The basic premise of a child identifying with the butterfly, long a symbol of hope and resurrection, is not original, but a sense of tenderness suffuses the text, making it a gently effective instrument of bibliotherapy. The bright warmth of the large, realistic watercolors helps to show that Lisa's life has many happy moments despite her illness. The very small print really doesn't matter, as the book would undoubtedly be used interactively with adults. --Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA

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