Butterflies for Kiri - Softcover

Cathryn Falwell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1600603424 ISBN 13: 9781600603426

Publisher: Lee & Low Books, 2008

Synopsis

Kiri is delighted with a birthday gift she receives: colorful origami papers and a special book of instructions. But when she can't seem to properly make a purple butterfly, she begins to feel frustrated. Things get worse when she thinks she's ruined one of the paintings she's working on. Then she remembers the origami papers. She fashions one into a flower to improve the picture, and soon she's cutting more shapes for it. As she begins to feel more confident with the delicate papers, she tries again, this time easily creating a bright yellow origami butterfly. Illustrated with eye-catching cut-paper collages, this book celebrates one child's determination and creativity.

About this title

About the Author:

Cathryn Falwell has written and illustrated many award-winning books for children. Her most recent books are David's Drawings and Turtle Splash (Greenwillow, Fall 2001). Other best-selling books include Feast for 10, which was featured on the PBS children's program "Barney;" We Have A Baby, a Children's Book-of-the Month Club selection; Word Wizard, a Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts; and The Letters Jester, a Reading Rainbow book.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3-A Japanese-American child receives an origami kit for her birthday. The brightly colored papers are "as thin as butterfly wings" and she handles them with care and reverence, spreading them out "like a rainbow." Kiri pores over the diagrams in the instruction book and tries to "Fold crisply!" and "Crease sharply!" The steps become more complicated and when the delicate sheet tears, she cries in frustration. Afraid of ripping another piece, she puts the papers away. As time passes, Kiri enjoys other artistic pursuits, like painting and chalk drawing, but she is still intrigued by the art of origami and continues to practice her folds on notebook paper. When her watercolors run together and make a soggy hole in the center of her picture, she finds another use for the origami papers. She cuts out flower shapes and as she glues them on her painting, "The colors began to dance." Feeling emboldened, she selects a sheet of yellow and successfully folds it into a butterfly. Falwell's cut- and-torn-paper collages are the perfect medium for the story. Kiri's disappointments are realistically captured, as is her creative spirit. Instructions on how to make an origami butterfly are included. Use this title with Virginia Kroll's Pink Paper Swans (Eerdmans, 1994) and Rosemary Wells's Yoko's Paper Cranes (Hyperion, 2001) to introduce this ancient art.
Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Lee & Low Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1600603424
• ISBN 13: 9781600603426
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32