Butterfly Park

As in her previous books, MacKay (Shadow Chasers) builds this story around characters and scenery she paints, cuts out, and then photographs with dramatic lighting; they sparkle with genuine, fairy-tale charm. This tale stars a dark-haired girl whose elfin shoes, red petal dress, and balletic poses give her a pixie-ish air. She has moved from the country to the city, and she discovers an extravagant, Art Nouveau-style gate next to her new house. "Butterfly Park," it reads. "The girl repeated the letters. Suddenly, she felt very lucky!" But where are the park's butterflies? A butterfly chase takes the girl and a growing group of children through the city's alleyways and up its staircases, but capturing butterflies won't work forever. Her new neighbors enlighten her: gardening is the way to attract butterflies. A bravura foldout shows Butterfly Park now crowded with plants, flowers, friends, and butterflies. Though the prose is of the greeting-card variety ("everyone planted until the park was brimming with flowers and laughter"), MacKay's artwork recreates the feel and pleasure of Edwardian-era illustration, and lovers of picture-book fantasy will embrace it. Ages 3-up. (May)

K-Gr 2--A nameless girl is sad to leave the butterflies when her family moves from a rural house to the city. Luckily, her new house is next door to Butterfly Park, but she finds the park barren of butterflies. She enlists the help of other children to catch butterflies and bring them to the park, but they always fly away again. Chasing the stubborn insects, the children realize that flowers will attract them, and they all pitch in to replant the park. The story concludes happily with a beautified park and the girl feeling right at home. The text of this story is its weakest element, while the artwork shines. The plot is standard picture book fare, but the writing is vague, awkward, and a bit coy. The 3-D "lightbox dioramas," on the other hand, are beautifully creative and atmospheric. Painted paper figures are placed into constructed scenery, lit dramatically, and photographed. Each page glows with jewel tones, and the final spread is a gatefold that displays the neighborhood's proud transformation. As a bonus, the book's dust jacket has a "Plant your own butterfly garden" poster printed on the inside, showing flowers that will attract butterflies. VERDICT A good fit for larger collections, especially those that emphasize gardening or ecology.--Heidi Estrin, Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL

"Each intricately detailed page is like some tiny, delicate stage set, with a blurred background suggesting an even wider world beyond."
—The New York Times Bookshelf

"Centered on the park's elaborate art nouveau gateway, MacKay's lyrical paper collage and diorama constructs feature layered details and out-of-focus backgrounds for a sense of depth. Brightly patterned butterflies, delicate flowers, and human figures pose like gracefully off-balance dancers. . . . Worthy of theme and equally pleasing to the eye and the spirit."
—Kirkus Reviews

"MacKay's artwork recreates the feel and pleasure of Edwardian-era illustration, and lovers of picture-book fantasy will embrace it."
—Publishers Weekly

"The settings are intricate—the Butterfly Park entrance gate is a thing of beauty—and MacKay's sense of composition is spot-on."
—Bookpage

"The real treat here is the art. MacKay in in top form, and readers will delight in the mix of colours, textures, and perspectives she employs in creating the visual elements of this lovely book."
—Quill and Quire