• Age: 7 to 10
• Grade: 2 to 5

5 Butterflies is a fascinating account of the life cycles of Monarch butterflies, Eastern Black Swallowtails, American Ladies, Question Marks … and … the Cecropia moth!

5 Butterflies gives you a close-up view of the insects just outside your door. These treasures do more than delight us with their surprise visits and dazzling colours. They report the health of our planet, feed the birds and mammals we so love, and represent hope, transformation, and even life after death for so many cultures.

Read funny stories, learn what it's like to be a butterfly farmer, take a trip inside a butterfly house, connect with the wildlife from the pond to the trees to the sky, and fall in love with a caterpillar that you nurture. Your life will never be the same.

• Follow the monarch from its life as an egg, to its epic migration to Mexico!
• Understand why butterflies are so important to our very existence!
• Learn about the challenges caterpillars and butterflies face!
• Examine the wondrous day to day changes in a caterpillar's life!
• Discover how you can help butterflies, right in your neighbourhood!

Carol Pasternak works as a motivational speaker when she is not scouring meadows and ravines for signs of wildlife for her presentations. She lives in Toronto.

Carol Pasternak's profile page

"Beautifully and profusely illustrated in full color throughout, 5 Butterflies deftly blends solid biological information with an entertaining style of presentation, making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to family, elementary school, middle school, and community library Pets/Wildlife collections in general, and the personal reading lists of butterfly enthusiasts in particular."
— Midwest Book Review

"With such in-depth treatment of its subject, 5 Butterflies will attract those affected by "biophilia" (love of living things) and "hortophilia" (desire to interact, manage and tend nature). Both "afflictions" offer untold benefits for the future of our planet… in this case, brought to us by some of the smallest, quietest, and most brilliantly colored creatures. Enjoy this highly readable book for its potential to inspire you to get to know them better.
Highly Recommended"
— CM Magazine

"Ms. Pasternak's reporting shares her love, and provides engaging text for readers. In chapters following the initial introductory one for the monarch, she adds further content: Protecting Monarchs and Inviting Butterflies to Your Garden. If you are at all interested in finding out how to create a space for monarchs and to watch them through their growth cycle, you will discover everything you need to know here.
"The design remains the same for other species included. As you read, you will learn about butterfly farming, and how they play a role in biodiversity of all ecosystems. Conversational and accessible text is written to speak to their beauty, their value in pollination, their diet which results in them consuming weeds, and their presence in helping determine how healthy an environment is."
— Sal's Fiction Addiction

"The book is definitely the perfect one for any child who wants to learn move about nature, espe3cially the butterfly … While the book is geared to children, adults can learn many things as well, making the book a well-rounded reference book for all lovers of nature."
— Shelf Life magazine