3 out of 4 stars
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"The more you grow, the sooner it will happen. Just wait!"
A baby caterpillar longs to have wings like his mama, the beautiful butterfly. She assures him that he, too, will receive wings someday. As the story continues, he eats his leaves and continues to grow fatter, meeting new friends along the way. The baby caterpillar is tired of waiting, but like his mother, the other insects reassure him that he will get his wings soon. Follow this little caterpillar's journey and discover what happens after his nap in this sweet children's book, Mama, Will I Get Wings Too? by Janie Houston.
This lovely children's book explores the life cycle of a butterfly from a baby caterpillar's perspective. The beautiful watercolor-style illustrations capture the caterpillar, butterfly, bumblebee, wasp, and grasshopper in colorful settings of leafy trees, the cocoon, and flowers. Anyone who has been around young children knows that waiting can be a difficult concept for little ones to grasp. I can see this fun story used as a gentle reminder to teach young readers to "Just wait."
In fact, I particularly like the creative way that the book teaches themes of patience and trust. While patience is the most obvious virtue taught, as the little caterpillar waits for his wings, he also learns to trust the insect authority figures who reassure him. He addresses the friends he encounters as "Mrs. Bumblebee," "Mr. Wasp," and "Mrs. Grasshopper," identifying them as adults. Baby Caterpillar learns that patience is rewarded and that in addition to his mother, he can trust other grown-ups as well.
The only thing I dislike about the book is its lack of consistency pertaining to punctuation. Sadly, I counted 16 errors in this 21-page book. Young readers may not notice the errors on almost every page, but it is important that they see examples of consistently capitalized names and correct punctuation. For this reason, I rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to young readers, parents, grandparents, and teachers.
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Mama, Will I Get Wings Too?
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