Title - 'A Butterfly Smile'
Publisher,
Year - Pratham Books, 2017
Grade - 3rd
Genre - Picture Book
Theme - Environment/ Migration
Author - Mathangi Subramanian
Brief
Biography
'Mathangi Subramanian' is a writer, educator, and activist who believes
that stories have the power to change the world. A former American
public school teachers, assistant vice-president at Sesame Workshop and
senior policy analyst at the New York City Council, she has received
numerous awards, including a 'Fulbright-Nehru' Fellowship, a 'Teachers
College Office of Policy and Research' Fellowship and a 'Jacob Javits'
Fellowship.
Synopsis
Kavya’s family has just moved from her village to Bengaluru and she is
the 'new' girl in her class. Go along with Kavya as she visits a
butterfly park where she discovers a special connection with butterflies
and also makes a new friend.
Reading - Writing Strategies
Pre- reading
- You can ask the students to predict the story by looking at the cover page.
- Point at the first picture , ask the students to identify the setting.
During reading
- Do you know what is a caterpillar?
- Kavya is feeling nervous about speaking in the class, do you ever feel the same?
- Has it ever happened that you changed your school within the city or because you moved to another city? How did you feel then? Can you connect to what Kavya is feeling?
- What is a cocoon?
- Have you ever seen a butterfly come out of its cocoon?
- Kavya's favorite insects are butterflies; what is your favorite insect?
Post reading
- You can ask the students to collect information about various species of butterflies found in India.
- You can ask them to write about / find out about experiences of people who have migrated from one place to another. For e.g- they might have a grandparent who migrated during partition, a parent who moved to another city for a job like kavya's parents etc.
- You can also organize a trip to Aravalli Biodiversity Park in Delhi, where they have a butterfly zone.
Reflection
'A Butterfly Smile' deals with the experiences of a young child , who has migrated with their family to a new city. She faces her own challenges while adjusting inside a new classroom. While reading the book I remembered the time when I switched schools in 8 th standard. Like Kavya I would also feel very shy and would be scared to say anything in the class. I feared people would judge me, because this new school was quite elite and people here were quite fluent in English. Other challenges were to adjust with new teachers , new rules and make new friends.
The parallel's drawn between the migration of butterflies and Kavya's family , felt like a metaphor for the way our lives are symmetrical with nature.
Sources
https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/11627-a-butterfly-smile
