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Summary
Summary
Farfallina and Marcel, a caterpillar and a gosling respectively, are an unlikely pair yet are the best of friends. But when they are both separated for a long time, they each undergo a miraculous transformation. Will these bosom buddies find each other again? And if they do, will they have grown apart while growing up? Full-color illustrations.
Author Notes
Holly Keller is the author-illustrator of more than thirty-five books for young children including the Horace books, Farfallina and Marcel, Help!, and Grandfather's Dream. She has also illustrated over twenty nonfiction titles written by others including the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science Books series. She won the 2003 Charlotte Zolotow Award.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-A gentle story about sustaining friendship in the face of change. One spring, a young gosling, Marcel, and a caterpillar, Farfallina, become close friends. Similar in temperament and considerate of one another's strengths and weaknesses, they like spending time together. One day, Farfallina feels very strange and she climbs a tree to rest. After weeks of patiently waiting for her return, Marcel realizes that he must go on without her. When the two meet again, they don't recognize one another at first: one has become a beautiful butterfly and the other an elegant goose. But they soon discover that, though they look different, they still are the best of friends. Watercolors in predominantly blue and green decorate the quiet tale, which includes an author's note on how caterpillars become butterflies. A lesson on metamorphosis, explained in a pleasurable manner.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Keller (Cecil's Garden) introduces a caterpillar and gosling in a deceptively simple story of friendship and transformation. They meet in a rain shower one day: " `Hey,' said a little voice./ `You're eating my umbrella," says feathered Marcel as Farfallina (whose name means "little butterfly" in Italian) nibbles on a leaf over his head. With a minimum of text, Keller describes the charming friendship's beginnings. When they play hide-and-seek, Farfallina hides under a low fern "because she knew that Marcel couldn't climb." In turn, Marcel hides behind a nearby tree "because he knew that Farfallina moved slowly." A full-page full-bleed painting shows Farfallina riding on the gosling's back across a lily-pad-dotted pond. One day, the caterpillar announces that she needs to climb onto a tree branch and rest for a while, and her patient pal settles in the grass to wait for her. A series of paintings follows each friend's metamorphosis Marcel's change in plumage, Farfallina's emergence from her cocoon. Finally reunited, neither creature recognizes the other and again bond as friends nonetheless. When they realize each other's true identities, Keller conveys their joy with the pair's fluttering of wings, and their quiet repose in an eloquently serene spread as they fall asleep "smiling at the stars." Keller's ending remains true to both nature and friendship that lasts through the seasons in this perfectly paced book. Ages 4-up. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
In this story about growing up and changing, a caterpillar and a young goose who are friends fail to recognize each other after they have transformed into their adult shapes, colors, and sizes. They are reunited after each finally recognizes in the other the qualities that attracted them to each other in the first place. Muted watercolor illustrations echo the unforced contemplative tone of the text. From HORN BOOK Spring 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Farfallina the caterpillar and Marcel the gosling become fast friends when they meet during a rainshower, taking an immediate liking to one another. The two play hide-and-seek, each taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of the other (Marcel can't climb trees like Farfallina, Farfallina can't move as fast as Marcel) and enjoy traversing the pond together, Farfallina riding on Marcel's back. One day, Farfallina doesn't feel like herself, so she climbs a tree while Marcel waits at the bottom. He waits and waits, until finally, lonely and worried, he gives up. When he next sees his reflection in the pond, he can hardly recognize himself; he's grown so much. Alert readers will surmise that Farfallina has done some growing of her own, and it's true: when she finally emerges, she has become a beautiful butterfly. She descends, saddened that Marcel did not wait for her; the only creature in the vicinity is a handsome goose in their pond. Of course, the goose is Marcel, but neither friend recognizes the other. They are attracted to one another all over again, and are overjoyed and amazed to realize each other's true identity. Keller's (Cecil's Garden, 2001, etc.) watercolor illustrations feature a bright pink caterpillar Farfallina, who turns into a glorious orange butterfly, and a realistically gray-brown Marcel against backgrounds of summery, outdoorsy blues and greens. This heartwarming, colorfully illustrated story underscores beautifully the power of true friendship without glossing over the reality that change is inevitable as friends grow and mature. (Picture book. 3-7)
Booklist Review
PreS^-K. With bright, clear watercolors, Keller tells an appealing animal story of best friends who change. Farfallina is a caterpillar; Marcel is a small gray gosling. The pictures show why they are friends and how they have fun together: Farfallina likes Marcel's soft feathers and gentle eyes; Marcel likes Farfallina's smile and pretty colors. When they are both transformed, they miss each other--until the butterfly and the large handsome gray goose are reunited. The fantasy is rooted in the amazing true nature story of change and metamorphosis. Keller's simple words and eloquent pictures show the creatures in the trees and on the pond, their fragile beauty, their strength, and their connection. --Hazel Rochman