Frank Is A Butterfly by Alex Latimer
Sep. 3rd, 2025 06:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
All the caterpillars on the broad green leaf dream of being absolutely beautiful butterflies. All except one - Frank.
Frank is a very plain caterpillar, and he’s quite happy that way. But what will happen when Frank turns into a butterfly?
Frank is a plain, brown, medium-sized caterpillar who lives on a green leaf with a number of other, much more brightly coloured caterpillars. Whereas his caterpillar chums are all hyper-focused on whether they will become beautiful when they turn into butterflies, Frank is perfectly content with his lot. He liked the view of the river that he has, and the other creatures who chat with him and the leaf itself is absolutely delicious.
When the day comes for the caterpillars to go into their cocoons and turn into butterflies, the other caterpillars are all disappointed with how they emerge, but what will Frank’s reaction be?
Alex Latimer’s self-illustrated picture books is a charming little delight that’s all about how to be happy with who you are and what you have rather than focusing on your appearance and how you compare with others. Frank is a great central character and I really enjoyed the little chat bubbles and Latimer’s use of colour. Young readers will love this and there’s plenty here for adult readers to find fun too.
I picked this up because I was interested in the fact that the front cover shows Frank as a brown butterfly so I wanted to know what happened to him and what I found was a really lovely story about a brown caterpillar who becomes a brown butterfly and who is absolutely content with his lot. Notwithstanding this, there are plenty of colours used throughout the book and Latimer is very clever in how he shows Frank’s superficial fellow caterpillars who are so caught up in how they look that they neglect to appreciate what is around them.
There are a lot of little interactions in the text - I particularly enjoyed the other insects who say hello to Frank - and I thoroughly enjoyed the final message of how it is enough to be who you are and hope that others join you. It would not surprise me if this becomes one of those classic picture books that young readers love and pass on for generations and it thoroughly deserves to be.
The Verdict:
Alex Latimer’s self-illustrated picture books is a charming little delight that’s all about how to be happy with who you are and what you have rather than focusing on your appearance and how you compare with others. Frank is a great central character and I really enjoyed the little chat bubbles and Latimer’s use of colour. Young readers will love this and there’s plenty here for adult readers to find fun too.
FRANK IS A BUTTERFLY was released in the United Kingdom on 7 August 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
All the caterpillars on the broad green leaf dream of being absolutely beautiful butterflies. All except one - Frank.
Frank is a very plain caterpillar, and he’s quite happy that way. But what will happen when Frank turns into a butterfly?
Frank is a plain, brown, medium-sized caterpillar who lives on a green leaf with a number of other, much more brightly coloured caterpillars. Whereas his caterpillar chums are all hyper-focused on whether they will become beautiful when they turn into butterflies, Frank is perfectly content with his lot. He liked the view of the river that he has, and the other creatures who chat with him and the leaf itself is absolutely delicious.
When the day comes for the caterpillars to go into their cocoons and turn into butterflies, the other caterpillars are all disappointed with how they emerge, but what will Frank’s reaction be?
Alex Latimer’s self-illustrated picture books is a charming little delight that’s all about how to be happy with who you are and what you have rather than focusing on your appearance and how you compare with others. Frank is a great central character and I really enjoyed the little chat bubbles and Latimer’s use of colour. Young readers will love this and there’s plenty here for adult readers to find fun too.
I picked this up because I was interested in the fact that the front cover shows Frank as a brown butterfly so I wanted to know what happened to him and what I found was a really lovely story about a brown caterpillar who becomes a brown butterfly and who is absolutely content with his lot. Notwithstanding this, there are plenty of colours used throughout the book and Latimer is very clever in how he shows Frank’s superficial fellow caterpillars who are so caught up in how they look that they neglect to appreciate what is around them.
There are a lot of little interactions in the text - I particularly enjoyed the other insects who say hello to Frank - and I thoroughly enjoyed the final message of how it is enough to be who you are and hope that others join you. It would not surprise me if this becomes one of those classic picture books that young readers love and pass on for generations and it thoroughly deserves to be.
The Verdict:
Alex Latimer’s self-illustrated picture books is a charming little delight that’s all about how to be happy with who you are and what you have rather than focusing on your appearance and how you compare with others. Frank is a great central character and I really enjoyed the little chat bubbles and Latimer’s use of colour. Young readers will love this and there’s plenty here for adult readers to find fun too.
FRANK IS A BUTTERFLY was released in the United Kingdom on 7 August 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
