Week 6 Unit Book List (10 Books)

The following books are a book list that could be used for Kindergarten Butterfly Life Cycle Unit.

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is a phenomenal and funny book for students to learn about the butterfly life cycle. It is 40 pages and was originally published in 1969. Eric Carle himself illustrated the book as well. Dolly Parton was a contributor. This book is great for teaching the days of the week as well as each day the caterpillar eats different things. The book was voted number 2 children’s picture book in 2012.

2. From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman has a lot of great facts about each stage of the butterfly lie cycle. The book was published in 1996 and is 32 pages long. It was illustrated by Bari Weissman. The book as been named as a NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children. This is a Let’s Read and Find Out book and explains simple science concepts for preschoolers and kindergarteners. Let's-Read-And-Find-Out is the winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Science Books & Films Prize for Outstanding Science Series.

3. How Does a Butterfly Grow? by D.K. Publishing is a fun book with flaps to see the different parts of the life cycle.  It is about the stages of a swallowtail butterfly. The book was published in 2019 and is 18 pages long. Close-up photos show the mommy swallowtail laying her eggs, the tiny caterpillar hatching and growing, and the pretty butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.

4. Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons is another great book for the life cycle of a butterfly. A lot of classrooms do the life cycle of the monarch and actually get caterpillars and let them grow and metamorphosis into butterflies as part of the unit. This one would be great to go along with it. This book is 32 pages long and was published in 2012. With clear, labeled diagrams and simple text that defines and reinforces important vocabulary, Monarch Butterfly introduces key concepts of insect anatomy and behavior.

5. Caterpillar to Butterfly by Laura Marsh which was published in 2012 would be another great choice. This book is a National Geographic Kids book and is 32 pages long. This book has a content section at the front that could help even independent readers know where certain information is. It has each stage broken down and then also has a cool facts content area. There is also a mother or butterfly content area as there is a difference.

6.  The Amazing Life Cycle of Butterflies by Kay Barnham is a great scholastics book that has DRA and Lexile Measurements. It is illustrated by Maddie Frost and is 32 pages long. The texts is lively and engaging and makes this book a favorite for students to return to again and again. There are also Notes to Parents and Teachers at the end to encourage further exploration and learning.

7. Science Vocabulary Readers Butterfly Life Cycle by Jeff Bauer is a great book especially for vocabulary. It was published in 2007 and is 24 pages long. With this being published by scholastics it is another great book that has DRA and Lexile measurements. This book includes exciting photos, illustrations, glossary, even comprehension questions, diagrams, maps, and more! It is great nonfiction book to help reading skills and vocabulary.

8. Lifecycles: From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Camilla de la Bedoyere was published in 2019 and is 24 pages long. It is a great book for discovering the stages of the butterfly lifecycle. Students will learn how they are born, grow up, and reproduce. It has amazing photographs of each stage, diagraphs that are labeled to explain the growth and development, as well as facts, and even discussion points for further learning. This book includes vocabulary on what an insect is and even the body parts of an insect!

9. Caterpillar to Butterfly by Lisa Herrington is a read about science book that is 32 pages long. It was published in 2014. In this book students learn the stages of the monarch butterfly and even how it fits in to the ecosystem. It is very easy to understand for younger learners. It even has a diagraph of the life cycle.

10. The last book that I chose that I believe will be good for the Butterfly Life Cycle in Kindergarten is the book Butterfly Garden by Margaret McNamara. It is illustrated by Mike Gordon and is 32 pages and was published in 2012. This book has a nice surprise at the beginning for the students in the book and would be a nice surprise for students to see if they know what it could be as well. There is a package that arrives on the teacher’s desk and it ends up being a jar with 5 caterpillars. The students in the book watch as the caterpillars eat and grow and turn to chrysalis and then to beautiful butterflies. This book is also a scholastic book with DRA and Lexile measurements.