I+Wish+I+Were+a+Butterfly

 I Wish I Were a Butterfly  Written By: James Howe  Illustrated By: Ed Young Book Review done by: Amanda Allain __**Bibliographic Data:**__ Author: James Howe Illustrator: Ed Young Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcour Publishing Year: 1994 IB: 0152380132 Pages: 40

__**Analysis of a literary element:**__ A literary element that is strong in the book is character development. Throughout this story we see the main character the little cricket struggles with his self image because he was told that he was the ugliest creature that ever lived. In the beginning of the story the little cricket believed what he was told and wished hew as something different then he really was. He did not understand that he should not care what others thought about him. As the story progresses and he goes around the pound hearing how he is not the ugliest thing that ever lived he is skeptical of what all of his friends are telling him. At the end of the story he realizes that he is beautiful and he should love himself for his differences.

__**A Summary of the book:**__ This book takes place at Swampswollow Pond where a little black cricket lived. One day he was told by the frog at the edge of the pond that he was the ugliest creature that ever lived. The cricket believed the frog and starting wishing he was a butterfly because butterflies where beautiful and he wanted to be beautiful. He went around the pond and all of his other bug friends tried telling him that he was beautiful just the way he was. Finally he went to go talk to the wise one who was a spider. The spider had the cricket look at their reflections in the water and asked the cricket what he saw. The cricket said he saw a beautiful her and an ugly him. The spider responded by saying that she saw two beautiful friends. The cricket realized that he wasn't ugly. Just then the wind came and ruined the spiders web so the cricket played his music while the spider fixed her web. While he was playing a butterfly flew over them and said that was the prettiest music she had ever heard and she wished she was a cricket.

__**A Review of the Book**__: This is a great book to read to students in elementary school because it deals with a lot of the topics that many of them are going through or will soon experience. One example is bullying, the frog in the story was the bully and by the end of the story the little cricket learned that he should of never listened to him that it didn't matter what the frog thought. Thats a great lesson for kids to learn, just to ignore what bullies have to say. The story also teaches kids about self acceptance and appreciating what is good about themselves. The story really comes full circle when in the end the butterfly wished to be the cricket. It shows students that everyone wishes they could have something they don't but its best just to appreciate what they do have.

James Howe is an award winning author of over 80 children's and young adult books. He was born in 1946 in New York and still lives in the state. He attended Boston University and moved back to New York City to become an actor. James along with his wife began writing children's books. In the 1980's James began writing full time and is now and accomplished author.
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