AUTHOR VISIT AT ECHO HORIZON SCHOOL, Culver City, CA

With librarian Claudette Brown at Echo Horizon School

I had a great time last Monday with the first and second graders at Echo Horizon School in Culver City. California. Many thanks to librarian, Claudette Brown for inviting me and for preparing the students for my visit. I loved their imaginary creatures inspired by my Hodag book! Each student had created their animal using the activity sheet downloadable from my website.

The children were very responsive to my presentation, asking lots of questions and answering mine. I was impressed that they all knew the terms “diurnal” and “nocturnal” when I showed them my Day and Night books.

I thank Children’s Book World for making my books available for purchase and signing. On my way to the school I picked up the books that had been ordered and signed them so that they could be delivered to the students after my talk.

As a bonus to my visit I happened upon a caterpillar on my way into school. (It was crawling along the sidewalk.) I picked it up, put it in a jar,  and shared it with the children—a perfect supplement to talking about my book Butterflies in Room 6. I brought it home where it has since made a chrysalis. Over the next two weeks it will metamorphosize and become a beautiful Mourning Cloak butterfly.

Mourning Cloak butterfly

WHAT IS A CHRYSALIS? Learning about Butterflies

Chrysalis of a Painted Lady butterfly, just before the butterfly is ready to emerge. The caterpillar's shed skin is still attached at the top.

A butterfly has four stages of life-- egg, caterpillar, pupa, and butterfly. The pupa is covered by a hard shell called a chrysalis. It protects the pupa as the pupa changes, or metamorphosizes, into a butterfly.

How do you pronounce chrysalis?
(KRIS-uh-lis)
What is the plural of chrysalis?
More than one chrysalis is chrysalises or chrysalides (kri-SAL-i-deez)

What is the origin of the word chrysalis?
It comes from the Latin word chrysallis which means gold-colored pupa of a butterfly and from the Greek word khrusos which means gold.

Monarch butterfly emerging from its chrysalis (at the Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC)

Each kind of butterfly has a different color and shape to its chrysalis.The chrysalis of the monarch butterfly has a ring of gold colored spots that make it look like it is wearing a gold necklace. Perhaps a chrysalis like that inspired the name.

Empty chrysalis, after the Painted Lady butterfly has emerged.

In my book, BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6, you can see the chrysalises of painted lady butterflies. They are brown. But the butterflies that emerge have beautiful black and orange wings.

Raising Painted Lady Butterflies from Caterpillars

It is not hard to raise painted lady butterflies at home or in the classroom. You do not need to start with eggs. Most people raise butterflies from caterpillars. There are a number of sources on the internet where you can order painted lady caterpillars. (I ordered mine from InsectLore and also bought a netted habitat for keeping the butterflies after they emerged from their chrysalises.) The tiny caterpillars come in a plastic cup, a supply of food, and directions for care. It usually takes about three weeks for the caterpillars to grow, form a chrysalis, and transform into butterflies.
If you find a painted lady caterpillar on a wild thistle plant or on a hollyhock leaf, you may be able to watch it grow by feeding it fresh leaves every day. The butterfly will emerge about 8-10 days after it forms the chrysalis. Within a few days after the butterfly emerges, you should release it so it can live in the wild.

HOORAY! It’s Publication Day for BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6

HOORAY! Today is the official publication day for BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6, my new book about a kindergarten class raising painted lady butterflies. BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6 follows a class of kindergartners as they raise butterflies--from tiny eggs, to caterpillars, to chrysalises, to beautiful butterflies, before releasing them in the school garden. 
I thank all the people at Charlesbridge Publishing who helped make this such a terrific book–my wonderful editor Alyssa Pusey, Susan, Joyce and Sarah for the book design, Yolanda, Karen, Julie, Diane, Cathy and everyone else who contributed to making this such a special book.
I couldn’t have written BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6 without the help of Jennifer Best and her kindergarten students at Haynes Charter for Enriched Studies in Los Angeles, California. I thank them for welcoming me into their classroom and for sharing the wonder of metamorphosis with me. Their excitement was contagious as they watched the caterpillars transform into beautiful butterflies. I am also grateful to the children’s parents and the school principal, Barbara Meade, for their enthusiastic support.
It was great to work with Jennifer Best again. Two years ago I followed her class as they hatched eggs and learned about the life cycle of chickens. That experience became my book HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6. Now we have a sequel! I am excited that it is now available to the public. Look for it at your favorite bookstore or online.

BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6

Author: Caroline Arnold Photographs by Caroline Arnold Age: 3-7 years Pages: 40 Publisher:Charlesbridge Publishing, 2019 ISBN: ( Hardcover ): 9781580897358 ISBN ( e-book ): 9781632897671

PROJECT: Butterfly Life Cycle with Pasta

A butterfly’s life cycle begins with an egg, which hatches into a caterpillar, which develops into a chrysalis and then metamorphosizes into a butterfly. You can observe all of these stages if you hatch painted lady butterflies in your classroom. And the perfect art project to illustrate the stages can be done with a paper plate and pasta.

You will need:

• A paper plate
• 4 types of pasta: bulgar for eggs; ziti for the caterpillars; shells for the chrysalis; and bowties for the butterflies
• Glue
• Markers, paint or crayons

Directions:

• Make an “X” across the paper plate to divide it into four sections.
• Label each section with a butterfly stage: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly
• Glue the appropriate pasta in each section. Draw or paint leaves. Color the pasta if desired.

I thank Jennifer Best for sharing this project with me. Her kindergarten students at Haynes Center for Enriched Studies did this project when they were learning about insects.

Painted Lady Caterpillars