Barefoot Books- LadyD: Butterfly

Barefoot Books-LadyD: Creepy Crawly Calypso

I'm geared up for back-to-school piano lessons! That's right, I'll be teaching preschool children, beginners, intermediate players, and adults too. As summer draws near to an end, I am continually amazed at earth's beautiful creatures, the elegant free-flowing butterfly. Here are a few snippets I came across this morning...

Butterflies in the Butterfly Garden

Just to taste what the other

world is like - outside the garden's

nettled roof and walls - they hitch

a ride on your back and shoulders.

Blue and pearly-colored fellows,

maidens etched in white and black.

And the monarchs' cousins,

yellow and navy swallowtails.

A pair rests on your fingertips,

They sit so still - their wings papery

petals - you only know they're alive,

because you're barely breathing, too.

By Sharon Chmielarz

The Common Blue Morpho

When a flattering friend pays you a

visit, it might be tempting to touch those colorful wings but doing so

can make life difficult for the butterfly.

Its wings and body are covered with thousands of tiny scales that

overlap like shingles on a roof.

These scales provide colors and patterns to camouflage the butterfly

from predators. They also shed water and help make the wings

strong. But they come loose easily. If you touch a butterfly's wing, the

"powder" you see on your hand is really scales that have fallen off.

By Jacqueline Adams

Meadow Mystery

While dragons soar overhead,

monarchs dine at my table,

My magic milk protects them

from enemies.

Clouds fill my pockets,

My coins bring good fortune to all.

Who am I? (the milkweed)

By Kathy Kennedy Tapp

Some Favorites

Banded Purple Wing

Belus Swallowtail

Common Blue Morpho

Giant Owl

Grecian Shoemaker

Gulf Fritillary

Orange Julia

Paper Kite

Pink Rose Swallowtail

Postman

Tailed Jay

Tiger Longwing

Zebra Longwing

You'll find trombone-blowing dragonflies and piano-tinkling centipedes inside the pages of this delightful Barefoot Book, Creepy Crawly Calypso. You can purchase the book, here.

Happy reading and butterfly watching!

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." -- Rabindranath Tagore

Butterfly and Caterpillar Class Books from Diane at TeachWithMe.com

orange butterfly resting on spider plant

But these are flowers that fly and all but sing:
And now from having ridden out desire
They lie closed over in the wind and cling
Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire.
~Robert Frost, "Blue-Butterfly Day"

Counting Butterflies Packet offered at Classroom Freebies

If you have a moment, I think you will enjoy this beautiful children's song. I love it so, especially because the gals soothing voice evokes such a peaceful moment that is so true of the butterfly. Enjoy!

Butterfly Song Lyrics

Down the valley,
In the meadow
I saw pretty butterflies,
They were flying in the air
They were flying very high.

On the flowers
Up the trees,
In the gentle morning breeze,
Butterflies, you’re so cute,
I would like to fly with you.

Butterfly Coloring Pages

Today's butterfly pictures for Mandarin Orange Monday are from my recent trip to the San Diego Safari Park. Every Spring the Butterfly Exhibit is open to the public and needless to say, the crowds are enormous. The huge butterfly display contained many beautiful varieties of red and black color, along with an enormous collection of brown butterflies landing on tree bark but when in flight you'll see their wings colored bright blue. I was delighted to capture their images even though the humidity was a bit of a challenge fogging up the camera lens.

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation?

For sure, Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" is by far my grandson's favorite book and one that I enjoy looking at over and over is from the author, Eve Bunting: Butterfly House. The book is about a young girl and her grandfather who rescue a caterpillar from a hungry blue jay and make a butterfly house to keep it safe. This tender story -- wonderfully illustrated with sun-kissed drawings -- includes simple instructions for making a butterfly house.

If interested, you'll find my review of the book on my other blog, LadyD Books