Glasswings: A Butterfly’s Story

I just bought several copies of Glasswings – one for us, and others which I gave as gifts, including one to my 5 year old’s school. This is one of the best children’s books I have read in a long time. (That says a lot, since we often go to the library, and read all the time.) I found Glasswings in the new books section of our local library. [I confess after I read this book, I checked out Elisa Kleven’s website, and promptly ordered all the books I could find from the library. I particularly LOVE Sun Bread, Welcome Home Mouse, and also The Dancing Deer and the Foolish Hunter, all of which teach very profound lessons for life.] Glasswings resonates with children (even my 7 year old loved it, and the boys told me they wanted to have their own copy. (I agreed. It’s not often I get a children’s book from the library and want my own copy.) They felt for the protagonist Claire, who was pushed away from her family by a wind, and found herself in a strange city, far from the blooming gardens of her family. The artwork is beautiful and stimulating (my 5-year-old LOVES when I ask him to find for me a particular object on the colorful busy page, and he searches for it and excitedly points when he finds it. Then he asks me to find things. He's also learning about "collage.") The language is poetry: “When she swooped down low to the forest floor she seemed as feathery green as the ferns.” and Claire finds herself in a “city of concrete and corners.” Also, the artwork reflects the feelings of the story. For example, when Claire misses her family, family life is depicted through apartment windows – a couple at a table, a mommy holding her baby, a child cozy in her bed. And the story itself has a depth that lends itself to discussion and teaching life lessons: I teach my children that sometimes in life, we find ourselves thrust into situations we would not have chosen; but it is our job to make the best of it, just like Claire pollinated the scrawny city garden, eating nectar from the flowers to which her friend the ladybug led her. Then, by doing the best we can, we can be found and transform this world into something even more beautiful. I discuss with my children, if Claire had moped and done nothing, her family would never have been able to find her. My father, who has glioblastoma, remarked that Claire is like Jacob who was sold to Egypt against his will, and worked to make the place successful, so that later his family came for food during famine, and found him. This little children’s book encourages children how to make this world a better place for having been here. Thank you, Elisa Kleven, for doing just that by writing your books for children (and adults!). I look forward to more!

Another beautiful book by Elisa Kleven with a good dose of facts to spark the interest of young readers. Amazingly detailed with tiny drawings, lots of interesting textures including the gorgeous marbled paper collage, and explosions of color. The author's note is where it needs to be--in the front of the book. After reading this charming story of how insects help beautify the world and about how Claire, the Glasswing butterfly, gets lost from her family but makes her way in the world, I wanted to see one of these amazing creatures. Time for a trip to Central or South America!

Our family treasures Elisa Kleven's work. She tells timeless stories, with beginnings, middles and satisfying, child pleasing endings, and her art work is beautiful. In addition to being a wonderful story with gorgeous illustrations, her newest book GLASSWINGS is also highly informative. It introduced us to a fascinating species, the transparent butterfly, and to facts about pollination, too. Like all of Kleven's work, this book is a joy on many levels.

I love this story! I can’t wait to read it to my class of three year olds. Not just while we learn about butterflies, it’s a great story of friendship and being kind and helpful to the community and to each other.

a wonderful book for our difficult times.all ages, all shapes, all sizes, all races, all religions, all differences.. if we ruin our planet i hope some future anthropologist finds this book intact and can figure out how to decipher it. they will know our better selves. Elisa Kleven inspires once again.

I teach fourth grade, and used this story as part of our city wildlife unit. The children loved the vivid pictures, and the story itself sparked a scientific interest in symbiotic relationships in nature. Well done, and written to be enjoyed by children.

This is a precious book that I love reading to my children. The illustrations are beautiful with new details to be found each time we read it. I love this author/illustrator and have several of her books.

A beautifully written and illustrated story by our favorite author, Elisa Kleven, Glasswings winds its way through Ms. Kleven's rich artwork on a journey with an uncertain destination. Along the way, we explore the meanings of beauty and home and find both in sometimes unexpected places. A treasure for both children and adults.