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In this book, young Erica teaches the book's audience some very important lessons. Erica is five years old, and one day, her father promises a day of doing all her favorite things—reading books, going swimming, and playing with animals. Despite her excitement about the upcoming day, another question fills Erica's mind: "Can you touch a butterfly?" Her father explains that to touch a butterfly, one has to be very patient and wait for a special moment. At the pool, Erica and her father make a new friend—a fluttering butterfly. The butterfly lands on Erica's father's arm, and then it allows her father to touch it. The butterfly gives Erica's father a special gift—the faint colors from its wing. Erica knows that the encounter is special, and she takes the memory of it to bed with her that evening, leaving her dreaming of her new, colorful friend.
Colorful and vibrant, this book has many important lessons to teach youngsters. First and foremost, it teaches them to engage with the world around them. Erica is a keen observer of everything, from the pool where she swims with her father to how her father interacts with nature. Her and her father's interaction with the butterfly also teaches young people that nature and its inhabitants are entities to be admired and respected. The butterfly's interaction with Erica and her father is symbolic of the careful balance humanity has to maintain with the natural world. This is a fun book that children will return to over and over again, especially as they explore the natural world and all the colorful gifts it has to offer them.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review