newindex

from Always Together

"We tumble

we twitter

we dip

float

and flitter

On thistle

we rustle

and whistle

and bustle . . . "

What are we?

c. 2006 Joyce Sidman BUTTERFLY EYES

What's in a meadow? Lots of things you may have noticed (a bright monarch, a leaping grasshopper, and a cruising hawk), and some things you probably haven't (a nest of rabbits, a quick fox, a foamy spittlebug). Beginning with the rising sun and ending with twilight, stroll through a meadow full of secrets, challenging yourself with poetry riddles and adding to your store of science wisdom.

Listen to Joyce read from this book.

Reader's Guide (click here)

Awards

Henry Bergh Children's Book Award

2006 Cybils Award for Poetry

ALA Notable Book

Kirkus 2006 Editor's Choice

New York Public Library's "100 Titles for Reading and Sharing"

NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book

Librarian's Choices 2006

Junior Library Guild Selection

Minnesota Book Award Finalist

Reviews

**Kirkus (starred review)

"Combining striking illustrations, evocative poems that do double duty as riddles and lucid prose commentary, this venture into the natural world stands out for both its beauty and its unusual approach . . . A top-drawer blend of art and science."

**Horn Book (starred review)

"The verse is vivid, melodious, and rich in variety . . . An elegantly conceived, beautifully integrated volume."

**School Library Journal (starred review)

"This book is a handsome and versatile compendium, melding art, poetry, and natural history."

How this book began

Where I grew up in New England, there were a lot of forests-turning-to-meadows and meadows-turning-to-forests. My grandparents' farm had great expanses of pastureland full of rabbits and butterflies, where deer came almost every evening to eat windfall apples. So when I decided to write about the meadow, I felt right at home. I was fascinated with how all these creatures are linked together--milkweed and monarchs, for instance--and decided to group them in twos. Then my editor suggested that, since the poems were tending that way anyway, we make them into riddle-poems. Beth Krommes added her lush illustrations, and--viola!

**"Stands out for both its beauty and its unusual approach."

(Kirkus, starred review)

Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets

of the Meadow

illustrated by Beth Krommes

Houghton Mifflin, 2006

Ages 5-9 ISBN: 0-618-56313-X