Review of Yellow Butterfly by Oleksandr Shatokhin

Authors

Madi B. Kennedy, Cedarville UniversityFollow

Publisher

Red Comet Press

City

Brooklyn, New York, United States of America

Date of Publication

2023

ISBN

9781636550640

Date of Review

2024

Disciplines

Library and Information Science | Modern Literature

Keywords

Children's literature, picture book, wartime, international

Review

Yellow Butterfly uses illustrations to communicate the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The story of a young girl and her emotions regarding war torn Ukraine depicted only by illustrations gives young children the chance to work through its meaning in a form of close reading that may be new to them. This close reading is more of reading into the illustrations’ meaning, accompanied by age appropriate instruction on the topic of war. It is helpful to pair this book with a social science lecture to 3rd or 4th graders, allowing them to have an idea of war and global issues, but also confining it to the imagination of a little girl and the hope she finds in a butterfly. This book would work best in a classroom setting so that the teacher can appropriately address the heavy topic. There is fear in war, especially if a student is closer to it than you might think, so delicately working through Yellow Butterfly allows for a healthy, close reading analysis for children to understand the harder parts of humanity through the hope of a little Ukrainian girl, and her desire to see the yellow butterfly fly free.

Recommended: Centennial Library Intern Madison Kennedy

Recommended Citation

Kennedy, Madi B., "Review of Yellow Butterfly by Oleksandr Shatokhin" (2024). Library Intern Book Reviews. 409.
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/intern_book_reviews/409

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