Books on Monarch Butterflies

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These picture books on Monarch butterflies will help children learn more about these beautiful creatures! Add them to your reading lists.

During the spring and summer months, kids will love studying Monarchs as part of your butterfly activities for preschoolers. The distinct colors of a monarch butterfly make it easily recognizable and a great specimen to study with little ones.

Books on Monarch Butterflies

Below, I’ve featured just a handful of preschool books for little ones who want to learn more about monarch butterflies.

You should be able to find them at your local library or bookstore. If you can’t find them locally, you can click each image cover to purchase them on Amazon.

Hurry and the Monarch – Embedded in this lyrical and tender fictional presentation are the fascinating facts about the amazing 2,000-mile migration and the life cycle of butterflies.

Monarch Buddies: Munch-A-Bunch of Milkweed! – Milkweed is NOT just another weed – it is the host plant for the “munching machine” monarch caterpillars! The story celebrates the caterpillar antics of “buddies” Max and Maisy, inspired by their mentor, Montgomery, as they share friendship and life cycle change.

Hello, Little One: A Monarch Butterfly Story – In this sweet, moving story of intergenerational friendship, a small caterpillar is befriended by a glorious monarch butterfly, and together they learn to see the world through each other’s eyes.

Monarch Butterfly – Follow the transformation from a tiny white egg laid on a leaf to a brilliantly colored butterfly in this kid-friendly introduction to metamorphosis. With detailed, bright watercolors, Gail Gibbons illustrates the life cycle of the monarch butterfly, stage by stage, as it grows, changes, and takes flight.

How to Raise Monarch Butterflies – Observing a Monarch butterfly as it transforms itself from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly is among the most thrilling experiences that nature offers. Raising Monarch butterflies is made easy with the help of this detailed guide.

Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly – It’s hard to be Velma, the littlest Gratch, entering the first grade. That’s because everyone has marvelous memories of her two older sisters, who were practically perfect first graders. Poor Velma—people can barely remember her name. But all that changes on a class trip to the magnificent Butterfly Conservatory—a place neither of her sisters has ever been. When a monarch roosts on Velma’s finger and won’t budge for days . . . well, no one will forget Velma ever again.

A Time to Fly: The Story of Annie the Butterfly – It was a perfect sunny day in Nana’s garden when Annie and her friends turned into butterflies. All flew off, but not Annie. Annie the Butterfly stayed with Nana for two whole weeks until she was ready to fly.

Butterflies Belong Here: A Story of One Idea, Thirty Kids, and a World of Butterflies – This book is about the real change children can make in conservation and advocacy—in this case, focusing on beautiful monarch butterflies.

Ranger Rick: I Wish I Was a Monarch Butterfly – What if you wished you were a monarch and then you became one? Could you transform from a caterpillar into a butterfly, and learn to fly? And would you want to? Find out!

When Butterflies Cross the Sky: The Monarch Butterfly Migration – Focusing on the migration journey of one specific monarch butterfly, When Butterflies Cross the Sky engages readers with a story-like narrative while subtly teaching the role of migration in the butterfly’s life cycle. Includes a “fast facts” page, a glossary, and realistic, text-match illustrations that pull readers right into the sky.

Mr. McGinty’s Monarchs – Mr. McGinty and his dog Sophie love checking in on the monarch caterpillars and butterflies on their summer walks. But one day Mr. McGinty is shocked to find that all the milkweed in town has been mowed down! And monarch caterpillars, he explains, can’t survive without milkweed. Can Mr. McGinty come up with a plan to save the monarchs?

One Million Monarchs – One Million Monarchs is a beautifully illustrated book for all ages depicting the long journey of the monarch butterfly out of Mexico. Some monarchs are lost along the way, but ONE makes it with the help of someone very special. Are YOU that someone?

Which of these books about monarch butterflies will you read first?

RESOURCES I LOVE

This wooden butterfly puzzle brain game will promote hand-eye coordination, develop problem-solving skills and improve matching skills. In addition, it can stimulate a child’s imagination and creativity. This beautiful butterfly lacing toy is great for practicing the sewing motion. It’s made of solid cherry wood, and finished with my homemade organic beeswax polish. The “needle” is attached to the natural cotton “thread” to make it easy to poke through the holes.