Learning about caterpillars and butterflies is a childhood tradition for many kids! The lifecycle is fascinating and the gorgeous colors of all the butterflies keep kids paging through books again and again. This is a spring science topic for many homeschool families year after year. Here are some wonderful butterfly books for kids that will keep them engaged and learning each year!
Butterfly and Bug Reference Books for Kids
Big Book of Big Bugs features huge fold out pages that highlight some of the biggest bugs in the world!
The Little Guide to Butterflies is a pocket-sized guidebook perfect for learning about butterflies you see while out in nature!
Ultimate Bugopedia: The Most Complete Bug Reference Ever is a must have fun reference book for your kids – especially those who LOVE bugs!
Related Post: Hands-on Butterfly Activities for Kids
Butterfly Activity Books
1001 Bugs to Spot and 1001 Bugs to Spot Sticker Book – Kids will love hunting for all of the bugs in these books. These are perfect for keeping your younger learners engaged when working with your older kids.
Butterflies and Bugs is a fun activity book for all ages. You’ll find coloring pages and rub-downs for decorating the beautiful scenes.
Bugs Magic Painting Book – Add some mess-free painting for your kids during your read aloud time with this beautiful magic painting book featuring butterflies and bugs.
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Non-Fiction Butterfly Books for Kids
Caterpillars and Butterflies is an engaging book for your beginning readers AND it has internet links for more fun (and even videos) to continue learning about butterflies!
Bugs and Butterflies (Lift the Flap) – Explore the world of bugs and butterflies in this fun lift-the-flap book.
My, Oh My – A Butterfly!: All About Butterflies – Cat in the Hat is always a hit with my kiddos!
Butterflies and Moths has gorgeous photographs including a praying mantis eating a butterfly. My girls really wanted to buy praying mantis eggs for our yard until seeing this photo. Remember…praying mantises are are not actually beneficial insects in your garden. They’ll eat other beneficial bugs as well as the harmful bugs, but they’re still fun to find from time to time!
From Caterpillar to Butterfly (Let’s Read and Find Out Science! 1) is perfect for preschool and kindergarten kiddos as they follow along with a class that raising it’s own Painted Lady Butterfly.
How to Raise Monarch Butterflies: A Step by Step Guide for Kids will walk you and your kids through everything you need to know about finding monarch butterfly eggs and raising your own butterflies. The pictures are beautiful!
The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed the World – Learn about one of the first female entomologists in this fascinating non-fiction picture book.
National Geographic Reader Great Migrations: Butterflies is perfect for young readers. My kids love having a stack of non-fiction books they can ready themselves!
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Engaging Butterfly Picture Books
A Butterfly is Patient is a simple but beautiful picture book for younger kids. We also love having A Seed is Sleepy and a Nest is Noisy as part of our nature books.
Glasswings: A Butterfly’s Story – I bet you didn’t know about the butterfly with transparent wings! Learn about glasswing butterflies and pollination is this adorable picture book.
Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly is a fun story about a timid girl who transforms into a budding scientist with the help of a persistent butterfly.
Whew! That’s a lot of books! There are some wonderful options for our youngest learners to those who are ready to for deeper dive into the world of butterflies.
What’s your favorite butterfly book?
Looking for more nature fun for your kids?
Love all these ideas! I think it’s time to grow some butterflies again so Nelly can see them hatch 🦋
That’s one of our favorite spring traditions!