My grateful thanks to Kirsten Knight at EK Books for sending me a copy of the children’s book Butterfly Girl by Ashling Kwok and Arielle Li in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.
Butterfly Girl was released by EK Books in the UK on 10th October and is available for purchase here.
Butterfly Girl
Butterfly Girl is a charming and sensitively illustrated book about friendship and making space for animals, even in an urban environment. Olivia, who loves butterflies, has to leave her home in the countryside and move into a city apartment. Feeling lonely without her fluttering friends, she realises she needs to transform her bare balcony if she wants her friends to visit — and that turns out to be a great way to meet her new neighbours!
My Review of Butterfly Girl
Olivia has moved to the city.
As I have come to expect from EK Books, Butterfly Girl is beautifully produced with physical qualities that mean it is hard wearing and robust. Made from managed forestry, with a strong cover and wonderful end papers, Butterfly Girl would be wonderful as a home gift for a young reader or could be perfect for use in educational and social settings. Indeed, I have to comment immediately on the end papers at the back of Butterfly Girl as they are not only beautifully illustrated, but they have 5 wonderful sections of facts about butterflies and guidelines for creating a community butterfly garden that will guide and inspire readers of any age.
Butterfly Girl is a heart-warming story too. Olivia loves butterflies and is surrounded by them in the country, but when she moves to the city her life becomes grey and friendless. The fabulous artwork illustrates this as it moves into a more monochrome palette. Olivia sets out to recreate a setting that will bring butterflies to her again and in doing so, by helping others build a more beautiful environment, she gains not just butterflies, but friends too. I loved the fact that the people in the story are illustrated as multi-ethnic and multi-generational because it makes the book inclusive.
The language used in Butterfly Girl is accessible for young readers and with far more illustration to text there’s nothing daunting to deter the most reluctant reader. However, alongside the beautiful illustrations, the great balance of text to image, and a lovely story in its own right, it is the themes that make Butterfly Girl such a success. It’s a book that gently teaches about the environment. It shows children how they do have power to change the area they live in, giving children status in what can be a challenging world, it shows how helping others can lead to friendship and happiness and it reassures children whose own circumstances are daunting, perhaps in having to move home like Olivia, that it can be a positive thing.
I thought Butterfly Girl was a smashing children’s book and thoroughly recommend it.
About Ashling Kwok
Ashling Kwok is a children’s author from Sydney. She is obsessed with children’s literature and loves immersing herself in a magical world where anything is possible. When she’s not working on her manuscripts, Ashling can be found scouring local bookstores in search of inspiration. She hopes to continue to write stories that take children on a journey and hopefully touch their hearts.
For further information, visit Ashling’s website, follow her on Twitter/X @AshlingKwok or find Ashling on Facebook and Instagram.
About Arielle Li
Arielle Li is a Taiwanese-Australian illustrator based in Australia with a compelling new style. She has been passionate about creating art from a young age, and has been pursuing illustration as a career since 2019. When she’s not working, she enjoys long walks at the beach, chasing her cats around the house and practising Taekwondo.
For further information, follow Arielle on Twitter/X @arielle_art, visit her website or find Arielle on Instagram.
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