Cathryn Falwell,
Butterflies for Kiri.
Lee & Low, 2003.

Kiri is thrilled to get a book on origami and a package of beautiful origami papers from her aunt as a birthday gift. But every time she tries to make an origami butterfly like the one her aunt put on top of her present, the paper rips. As the weeks pass, Kiri practices over and over with notebook paper so she won't waste the colorful and delicate origami sheets.

She also paints, draws with chalk, and works with clay. When a watercolor picture inspired by a beautiful spring day is ruined after the paint runs and the paper begins to shred, Kiri's frustration and anger lead to a moment of inspiration, and a new way to use the origami papers she loves. She also finds success at last in her attempts to fold an origami butterfly.

As she did in David's Drawings (Lee & Low, 2001), Cathryn Falwell has created an lively, engaging and realistic picture book about child artist, this time focusing on determination, inspiration, and the surprising outcomes that can arise from frustration . Children will enjoy looking for ways the author/artist has incorporated butterflies into the brightly colored illustrations of Japanese American Kiri and her family.

Megan Schliesman
September 2003