The Butterfly

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Summary: The best book ever!
Review: Acquainting readers with holocaust history, The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco successfully maintains virtuosity to a war tale of sadness and tragedy while still exploring a delicate balance between the horrors of war and the childish innocence of two little girls cheerfully building a friendship. Based on the life experience of the author/illustrator's aunt Monique, the girl protagonist discovers that her family is hiding a Jewish family in her home.
Secretly meeting and playing together each night after the other members of the families sleep, Monique and Sevrine build a poetic friendship full of hope, happiness, and a childish energy that defies the boundaries between war cultures. After a neighbor catches sight of the girls playing too close to the window, the girls realize that the secret hiding place might be suspected. The plot races onward to an exciting climax as Monique and Sevrine must divulge not only their secret friendship but also the new danger to their parents. Escaping to a new hiding place, Sevrine's family is whisked away into the dark night of the unknown, while Monique hopes for her friend's safety. A symbolic butterfly fluttering through the French family's garden later assures Monique that her friend must be alive and safe. An author's note in the end pages assures readers that Sevrine did survive the holocaust-although her parents were not as fortunate.
The characters, while handled lightly in words, convey roundness in the authentic sense of emotions as they run the gamut of fear, comfort, hate, and love. Convincing as a memoir, The Butterfly successfully conveys the quiet strength of individuals amidst trial.
Perfect as a delicate and sophisticated handling of a cruel time in history, The Butterfly provides an appropriate way to dialogue with children about the uglier side of humanity-without crossing into the gruesome or blatantly shocking (although also true) stories of war that sometimes make war books inappropriate for younger children. The Butterfly provides allusions to war crimes that will be understood by older children while still providing an eye-opening tale of friendship to younger children. Targeting the age range of 6-9, The Butterfly adeptly provides insight into the beauty of life while describing life's fragility.
Known as the author/illustrator of numerous books including Pink and Say, Patricia Polacco's pencil and watercolor illustrations highlight the contrast between the cruel and the innocent. The dust jacket of the book is a perfect symbol of the juxtaposition between innocence and cruelty since the front side of the cover depicts irises, a butterfly, and a young girl with warm watercolor tones and delicate chiaroscuro while flipping the book over reveals a Nazi officer with a hard-set jaw and unseen eyes with a swastika banner depicted in harsh black, gray, and browns. Polacco's story is an important history while her illustrations make that history palatable and vivid to child and adult viewers. Experiencing The Butterfly means contemplating unsettling human history while savoring the security of friendship.

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Summary: The Butterfly
Review: I found "The Butterfly" a very interesting book because it not only shows how Jews, but how non-Jews lived in fear in World War II. It tells how the little girl, Monique, is afraid of the "tall black boots" in her small French village. The "tall black boots" refer to the Nazi officers. It is not until Monique's friend, Monsieur Marc, is beaten and taken away by the officers when Monique finds out why the Nazis are in her village. One night Monique encounters a little "ghost girl" in her room that teaches Monique that she is not the only one afraid of the War. The little "ghost girl" turns out to be a Jewish girl named Severine hiding with her parents in Monique's unknown basement. It turns out that Monique's mother was hiding this secret from her. One night when Monique and Severine are playing in Monique's room when a neighbor sees them. The girls tell Monique's mother that someone had saw Severine and that Monique and her mother will be in trouble if they continue to harbor Severine and her family. That night, Monique and her mother take Severine and her parents to safety and Monique ends up in trouble. Will she ever be safe?

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Summary: The Butterfly
Review: Monique finds her life changed by the Nazis during the war; but her real change comes when she discovers a Jewish girl is hiding from them in her own basement. The two become friends, but their friendship endangers their families. Good reading skills required for this fiction story of wartime friendships and experiences.

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Summary: The Butterfly
Review: Patricia Polacco captivates young and old alike with this story of friendship and courage that is based on real events. Polacco brings the story of the Nazi occupation in France to her readers through a family hiding a Jewish family in their basement. Polacco uses rich water color illustrations to evoke feelings of fear and hope. Told from a child's point of view, this story opens the door to discussions of prejudism and racism during this time of national unrest.

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Summary: The Butterfly By Patricia Polacco
Review: The book The Butterfly By patricia polacco is a story about a little girl during the 1940's, but her mom was hiding people in the basement.When all the people have to leave, even her best friend.But they will always have a gift from eachother to remember them.
I would recommend this book to whoever picks up this book.It has a little bit of everything a memior,a little bit of went on in history,it also has a lot of friendship.
In this book you will have a lot of vizualization,question,and a lot of craft. These will help you understand.

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Summary: Polacco: One of my very favorite authors!
Review: The reviews state that THE BUTTERFLY has a target audience of ages 6-9 but I disagree! Polacco's lovely stories have appeal for all generations. Today is my daughter's birthday; she is a new 2nd grade teacher. My favorite gifts to her are six Patricia Polacco books. THE BUTTERFLY was written in honor of Polacco's great aunt, Marcelle Solliliage and her Aunt, Monique Gaw. Marcelle was part of the French underground and resistance during World War II. She bravely hid Jews in her home during the Nazi occupation. Monique was oblivious to these happenings until she met a young Jewish girl, Sevrine who happened to be hiding in the basement. A friendship developed that has endured many decades, right up to today! Polacco's exquisite story teaches the reader about true bravery, honor, and self-sacrifice (not to mention the history of a time not so long ago). How many of us would do today, as these valiant heroes have done many times in the past?

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Summary: The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco Review done by April
Review: This book is based on a true story. It is about two girls; Monique and Sevrine, in which Sevrine and her family are trying to survive against the Nazis' attacks. Before Monique meets Sevrine, her best friend is Denise. This story takes place in France. Monsieur Marks, owner of the candystore, gets taken away by the Nazi soldiers. Monique asked her mother, Marcel Solliliage, why they took him away. Her mother tells her it is because he is a Jew. A night before all this happened, Monique claims she saw a ghost girl. Later, Monique finds out that Sevrine is the ghost girl and that she isn't really a ghost at all.
Monique asks here where she lives. Sevrine says that she lives here. Monique is puzzled by this because she lives there. Sevrine tells her that she is a Jew, so she has to hise from the Nazis. Sevrine tells her that she lives in the cellar in her house, and that Marcel Sollilage has been hiding her family for awhile. Since Monique found out that Sevrine lived in her house, she would have someone to come to her room at night to play with. She brought Sevrine things like soil and then one day, a butterfly. They both go to the window to let the butterfly go and their next-door neighbor, Monsieur Lendormy, saw them together. They thought that Sevrine and her family were in danger, so they went to go find and wake up Monique's mother.
Marcel tells them to put on as much layers on them as they could and had Sevrine's parents dressed up as a priest and a nun. A car pulls up that Sevrine is going to ride in. Monique gives Sevrine her cat, Pinoff and Sevrine gives her a gold chain with a gold Star of David on it. Will Sevrine and her family survive? Will Monique ever see Sevrine again? Read this great story if you want to find out what happens. I thought this book was great because it was based on a true story. It is a great story, that tells you about two little girls that come face to face with the Nazis, but still have faith that it will all be over soon.

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Summary: The Butterfly
Review: This story is about Monique, a little girl living in Nazi occupied France. One night she discovers what she believes to be a ghost sitting on her bed. Later Monique discovers that the figure she saw was not a ghost, but a little Jewish girl named Sevrine who was hiding from the Nazis in Monique's basement.

Monique and Sevrine become close night-time friends. They play in the shadows of the night as Sevrine hides from the Nazis. Then one day Sevrine is discovered. Sevrine and her family are forced to flee from this little French town.

I was tremendously moved by this story, and my nine-year old daughter loved it as well. Patricia Polaco does a wonderful job of putting such a trying and horrible situation in words that a child can understand. I highly recommend this book.

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Summary: A Beautifully Historic Children's Book
Review: This story is about Monique, a little girl living in Nazi occupied France. One night she discovers what she believes to be a ghost sitting on her bed. Later Monique discovers that the figure she saw was not a ghost, but a little Jewish girl named Sevrine who was hiding from the Nazis in Monique's basement.

Monique and Sevrine become close night-time friends. They play in the shadows of the night as Sevrine hides from the Nazis. Then one day Sevrine is discovered. Sevrine and her family are forced to flee from this little French town.

I was tremendously moved by this story, and my nine-year old daughter loved it as well. Patricia Polaco does a wonderful job of putting such a trying and horrible situation in words that a child can understand. I highly recommend this book.