The Little Butterfly That Could by Ross Burach

From Goodreads, 

"WHAT IF I CAN'T?

“Will elicit plenty of giggles." -- Kirkus Reviews

Which way to the flowers?

That way. 200 miles.

How am I supposed to travel that far?!

You fly.

Can I take a plane?

No.

Then I'll never make it!

This comical companion to Ross Burach's The Very Impatient Caterpillar pays loving homage to every child's struggle to persist through challenges while also delivering a lighthearted lesson on butterfly migration. Remember, if at first you don't succeed, fly, fly again!"

Goodreads - The Little Butterfly That Could

This is the final picture book that I received from Scholastic.  I have mixed emotions being done with the picture books.  I love picture books because they are simple and usually pack an important message in the few pages they have.  They also have beautiful illustrations that complement and strengthen the story.  But I am also really excited to jump back into chapter books.  They usually have a deeper message and more connectable characters than picture books.  Plus they take a little more time to devour and are books that I can put in my classroom library. 

The Little Butterfly That Could is the story of a butterfly that gets lost.  He is trying to fly to find the flowers with a group of migrating butterflies when he gets lost in the clouds.  He asks a whale for help, but the butterfly keeps saying that he will never make it.  But the whale keeps encouraging him until the butterfly works up the courage to make the 200-mile trek to find the other butterflies. 

This book resembles the story of the little engine that could.  But this is the story of the butterfly that could.  This is apparently a follow-up book to the book The Very Impatient Caterpillar.  I thought the butterfly in this book was extremely annoying.  He was whiny and exhibited a little bit of anxiety.  The butterfly had a constant fear of making the trek because he didn't think he could do it.  But the whale was overly encouraging and was able to convince the butterfly that he could do it.  The whale was by far my favorite just because he was so positive and honest.  This book was left open so that there could be another book following, but honestly, I don't think another needs to follow.  The book has fitting illustrations.  The whale seems calm, cool, and collected, but the butterfly is a hodgepodge of colors and seems chaotic just like the butterfly actually is.  I think this book could definitely be used in a classroom to talk about having grit and perseverance.  I think kids would also enjoy it if the book was read so each of the characters has a different voice.  

I don't think this is a book I can use in my classroom.  It would really fit best in an elementary classroom.  It has an important message about continuing on even when things get tough.  I give this 3 stars.  It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible.