OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "What Color Is Your Butterfly?" by Matt Scott.]

If you have any children of your own (and you probably do since you're reading a children's book review!), there's a good chance you've had to deal with getting them past some of their fears. Maybe you've had to check for monsters under their beds or in their closets. Maybe you've had to leave their bedroom door open or give them a nightlight. Heck, maybe there's an awesome nightlight in their room right now! But sooner or later, children need to learn how to deal with fear on their own.

Dealing with fear is the focus of What Color Is Your Butterfly?, written by Matt Scott and illustrated by Ana Sebastian. This is the first book of the "Find Something Awesome!" series, and in the 16 months since it released four additional books have followed it. The book begins with Matt's goal for the series: "to create a needed modern Aesop's Fables as bedtime stories from parent to child."

In this first entry, a father tells his daughter a secret. Through rhymes and adorable illustrations, after covering her with a blanket, turning on the light, and checking under the bed, he tells her the secret to defeating all the monsters and fears she'll ever have. It's an adorable tale, and the creativity of the solution is right up there with the best things I've heard from books and movies.

While the writing is sweet, the icing on the proverbial cake is the art. The father clearly looks kind and loving, but the daughter steals the show. She's wonderfully emotive and amazingly adorable! There's a blend of art styles in the book, from what looks like pencil or crayon shading on her bed, to penciled lines for the wooden floor, and there are terrific little stuffed animals and toys. There are details everywhere, and the images are big and colorful with the black text underneath against a white background.

What Color Is Your Butterfly? is an adorable little book, and it does a terrific job of teaching its lesson. The discussion questions and quick single-sentence summary points at the end ensure that everyone will understand the point. Only one of the rhymes felt forced at all, and I saw no grammatical or formatting errors whatsoever. My rating of the book is 4 out of 4 stars, and it's an easy recommendation for anyone trying to teach their child how to conquer their fears. The Amazon page for the book has no recommended age, but I'd consider it an early-reader title.

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What Color Is Your Butterfly?
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Like CataclysmicKnight's review? Post a comment saying so!

I bet every parent has a desire to see her child overcoming their fears. The book does not only seem intriguing but also helpful. Nice review.

We all have fears we need to do with, so it's nice that children's books address this early. This seems like a fabulous book for that reason. I love that the illustrator made the daughter so kid friendly and overly emotive. Thanks for the review.

The book teaches us to overcome whatever trials that we may be encountered. Life is full of temptations. So we have to get ready for that

Sounds like a great way to teach children how to handle their fears. Children are attracted to beautiful pictures. From your review it sounds like this book gives children both.

I think every one has had to over come some kind of fear in their life. Growing up, mine was thunderstorms. I use to hide up under tables to get away from them. But now, I LOVE them. I find it the most relaxing to read while it is storming. And, no, I don't have any human babies, but I have a one-year old puppy that I read to. Her biggest fear is card board boxes lol. :) I enjoyed your review and I'm sure that the younger audience will really enjoy this book.