Beverley Fahey (Children's Literature)
When Velma Gratch enters first grade, all the teachers have marvelous memories of her two “practically perfect” older sisters. Poor Velma struggles to find a subject in which to excel. A visit to the Butterfly Conservatory with her classmates becomes a field trip neither Velma nor her classmates will forget and is the vehicle which Velma needs to prove she is way cool. As she walks through the exhibit, the timid girl desperately want a butterfly to touch her and she holds her breath as one gentle monarch lands on her finger. There it stays on the bus ride home, all the next day in school, even through ballet and soccer. Velma proudly parades her butterfly to the park with the whole class and principal following to release the monarch for its long trek to Mexico. Velma has done something as marvelous as her sisters. This celebration of one child overcoming her timidity and undergoing her own metamorphosis is nicely balanced with butterfly information from metamorphosis to migration. It does take a stretch of imagination to believe the butterfly would stay of Velma’s fingers for several days but her joy is so infectious it is easy to cheer her on. The bright, energetic illustrations move the story along. You cannot help but like Velma; she is way cool. 2008, Schwartz & Wade, $16.99. Ages 5 to 9.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 18))
First-time first-grader Velma Gratch finds that extricating herself from the grandiose shadows of her older sisters is a daunting task. Frieda and Fiona were beloved of every teacher that Velma now has, and even when she does get some attention it tends to be of the negative variety. It's only when her class begins a unit on butterflies that Velma really begins to come into her own. Science is an area that neither of her sisters ever gave much thought to, and a class trip to the local butterfly conservatory is heaven to Velma. Unexpectedly, while she's there, a single monarch lands on her finger, refusing to let go. The solution to this predicament happily gives both girl and butterfly exactly what they need. Madison's tale of a child finding a way to distinguish herself works in a variety of fun butterfly facts. Hawkes deftly replicates the wingspan of a monarch butterfly in Velma's thick ponytails, giving the general impression of a girl emerging from her old self into her new. 2007, Schwartz & Wade/Random, 40p, $16.99. Category: Picture book. Ages 5 to 8. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2008)
First-grader Velma is hell-bent on distinguishing herself from her much-adored older sisters. During a class trip to a butterfly conservatory, Velma is able to make a name for herself. The story takes a while to get going, and the text is wordy though informative. In his exaggerated illustrations, Hawkes gives the sympathetic Velma one expressive pair of orange pigtails. Category: Picture Books. 2007, Random/Schwartz & Wade, 32pp, 16.99, 19.99. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.

Bobbie Jo Sims (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 20, No. 3))
This book is totally delightful, not only because of the text but also because the illustrations are very cute and have a definite impact on the story. One could almost look at the illustrations and know the story. Mr. Madison uses many adjectives and adverbs which adds a lot of character to the story, such as: “miraculous math;” “spectacular spelling;” “owlish eyes;” “pretzel-twisted;” “voice like an angel;” “ran like the devil,” to name a few. Another interesting twist is that little six-year-old Velma repeats words over and over so that she can remember them: metamorphosis (“metal-more-for-this”); conservatory (“can-serve-the-story”); migration (“my-gray-sun”). In the story, many interesting facts about butterflies are introduced, including the fact that there are over 20,000 different kinds of butterflies. In the front of the book, there are illustrations of many of the caterpillars along with the names, and in the back two pages are illustrations of many kinds of butterflies, also with the names. These facts will be extremely helpful to anyone reading the book. The story includes a number of extremely helpful life-lessons for young people, but these are cleverly incorporated into the story so one doesn’t get the impression that they are being crammed down the reader’s throat. This is a totally enjoyable and informative book, and one I can highly recommend. Fiction, Highly Recommended. Grades 3 and up. 2007, Schwartz & Wade Books, Unpaged., $16.99. Ages 8 up.