Fly, Butterfly, Fly

‘Surrounded by riches/Of summer-bloom flowers/the Cabbage White feels too plain’. So Dom Conlon sends the butterfly on a journey starting in the meadows around the UK then on circling the world to find butterflies of all shapes and sizes whose wings are multi-coloured, brilliantly patterned or camouflaged. But none of these are for her – back home it is among the cabbage leaves ‘where Butterfly’s colour’s just right’ that she will lay eggs to become the next generation.

This is no slow, staid fact filled introduction to butterflies of the world; rather it is a whistle-stop tour.  Colours spill off the page, environments are immediate as Izlesou’s illustrations dominate each double spread adding to the trajectory of the journey and bringing extra vibrancy to Conlon’s words. Using blank verse, immediate and authoritative, the poet introduces species, identifying a detail that that will pop off the page. But all the while the presence of the Cabbage White brings the reader back home. However, reminding the young audience that these are not fairytale creatures, the author concludes with a few Butterfly Facts – but it is the journey of the Cabbage White that will entrance and inspire.