Butterfly we're expecting you by Libby Hathorn

Ill. by Lisa Stewart. Lothian, 2017. ISBN 9780733416995
(Age: 4+) Gardens, Exploration, Butterflies. Two children go out into the garden to see what they can find. They see a caterpillar and wonder at what it will become, they see a beehive and wonder at the bees inside, making honey, they see a lizard but it scuttles away, a frog hops away, birds chirping in the tree.
In rhyming stanzas Hathorn tells of the children and their exploration of the garden, looking at all the wonders it holds, but also thinking of what may lie beneath. When it is time to come back indoors they spy a wondrous butterfly, resulting from the caterpillar they saw at the beginning.
In this way the story comes back on itself, encouraging children to go outside and take a look for themselves. The softly sentimental illustrations show the two children alongside enlarged versions of what they see.
Some teachers may be able to use this book to encourage children to look beyond the classroom and social media to which they are so attached.
Fran Knight