Butterflies for Kiri

by Cathryn Falwell

Book Overview

A Japanese American girl grows creatively and, with perseverance, masters the art of making an origami butterfly. Includes instructions.

Kiri loves to make things. When she receives an origami set for her birthday, she can't wait to try making a butterfly, just like the one Auntie Lu had made. Kiri chooses a bright purple paper and carefully follows the steps, but the paper tears after just four folds. Her beautiful paper is ruined...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1600603424
• ISBN13: 9781600603426
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 8.9" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

sweet story

Kiri is very excited when she gets a origami kit from her aunt as a birthday gift. She tries right away to make a butterfly with the kit. After several tries she gets fustrated with it and almost gives up. As she practices she gets better and better. Instructions are included on how to make your ouw butterfly. Remember it's not easy and you will have to work on it just like Kiri but it will be really neat in the end. The story has a great lesson. The lesson I learned from this story is that practice makes perfect and to never give up. This book would be neat to share in the classroom or at a storytime while learning about origami and or Asian countries.

Published Reviews

-SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:"A Japanese American child receives an origami kit for her birthday. The brightly colored papers are "as thin as butterfly wings" and she handles them with care and reverence, spreading them out "like a rainbow." Kiri pores over the diagrams in the instruction book and tries to "Fold crisply" and "Crease sharply!" The steps become more complicated and when the delicate sheet tears, she cries in frustration. Afraid of ripping another piece, she puts the papers away. As time passes, Kiri enjoys other artistic pursuits, like painting and chalk drawing, but she is still intrigued by the art of origami and continues to practice her folds on notebook paper. When her watercolors run together on make a soggy hole in the center of her picture, she finds another use for the origami papers. she cuts out flower shapes and as she glues them on her painting, "The colors began to dance." Feeling emboldened, she selects a sheet of yellow paper and sucessfully folds a butterfly. Falwell's cut-and-torn paper collages are the perfect medium for the story. Kiri's disappointments are realistically captured, as is her creative spirit. Instructions on how to make an origami butterfly are included. -BOOKLIST:"Colorful and bright, this story of frustration and determination will appeal to children who have experienced both . . . . The cut-and-torn paper collages are just the right medium for this story, and Falwell uses her papers to good effect-sometimes very simply, sometimes in elaborate ways-to capture both the enthusiasm of the child and the enthusiasm apparent in Kiri's art. A final page offers instructions for making an origami butterfly; as with Kiri, it may take children awhile to master the project, but they should enjoy practicing." MORNING NEWS:"Butterflies gives young readers the feeling of having a book in a book with Kiri's own story of her birthday treasure. More practically, readers can try out origami using some of the instructions included in the story. Author/illustrator Cathryn Falwell cleverly spreads the joy through Kiri's own words as she calls out the instructions from her book, "'Fold crisply. Crease sharply.' the book said." Kids, try the step-by-step picture instructions at the end of the book to make your own origami butterfly. It looks easy enough even for grown-ups. -THE DALLAS

A charming, full-color picture book

Butterflies For Kiri by author/illustrator Cathryn Falwell is the story of Kiri, a young girl who is struggling to learn the art of origami, paper folding to craft a beautiful butterfly from a square sheet of colored paper. Her first tries tear the paper, yet with inspiration, determination and perseverance, Kiri is able to achieve her goal. Instructions for young people to fold their own butterflies are included in this charming, full-color picture book.

Beautiful book with a touching story

My children and I were delighted to find this new book by one of our favorite author illustrators. Kiri struggles with learning a new skill the same way my little perfectionist 7-yr-old daughter does. The way Kiri explores her own creative expression while continuing to patiently practice the folding of the origami is really beautiful. When both of these parts come together at the end of the story, Kiri's imagination dances free. My daughter found a kindred spirit in Kiri. The illustrations are gorgeous. My younger children also enjoyed this book.