Also by Dianna Hutts Aston: A Seed is Sleepy An Egg is Quiet Not So Tall for Six Also illustrated by Sylvia Long: An Egg is Quiet A Seed is Sleepy A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long Ages 5-10 40 pages Chronicle May 2011 Hardcover     The creators of An Egg is Quiet and A Seed is Sleepy turn their focus to butterflies. Each two-page spread in A Butterfly is Patientcontains an observation about butterflies (a butterfly is protective; a butterfly is thirsty; a butterfly is helpful), labeled illustrations, and a short paragraph of facts verifying the truth behind the observation. Words like molt, chrysalis, and metamorphosis are used when describing how a butterfly is creative. Butterflies like the Pipevine Swallowtail look beautiful, but their ability to kill birds and insects is revealed under the statement “A Butterfly is Poisonous.” Watercolor illustrations provide close-up views of the butterflies in their natural habitat and in their various stages of development. Highlights of the book include how one can distinguish between a moth and a butterfly and the illustration of the “puddle club” drinking water near a muddy pond. This book could be useful as a butterfly identification guide or as a resource for an elementary school student doing a project on butterflies. This thoughtful book, which has a structure similar to a circular story, will remind children the butterfly lifecycle begins and ends the same way: with a butterfly egg waiting patiently to hatch.     web reviews   Tanya Boudreau/2011 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)