The Butterfly
From a Tiny Wingbeat to a Tornado
This beautiful picture book by Roger Vaughan Carr and award-winning Ann James portrays the theory of the butterfly effect in a simple yet informative way.
Malani likes to play in the forest. One day she sees a beautiful butterfly and thinks about how fragile and ineffective it is compared to her father's elephant. But when the butterfly is startled, it creates a tiny puff of air that joins other winds, gaining strength and travelling across the world. When it returns, it has become something so powerful that it makes even the mighty elephant tremble.
Creators
Melbourne-born Roger Vaughan Carr is a well-known children’s author who has written school reading texts, novels for adolescents and contributed stories to the Victorian School Paper. He has published over 60 books and been shortlisted several times for Children’s Book Council of Australia awards. Roger has also written television, radio and film adaptations of his works. The Butterfly was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Award in 1997.
Ann James is an award-winning illustrator of over 60 children’s books. She particularly loves illustrating picture books and texts for young children. She works in a variety of mediums including pen and ink, watercolour, soft pastels, charcoal and collage. Ann, with partner Ann Haddon, established Books Illustrated in 1988. This gallery for book illustration focuses on creating exhibitions promoting Australian picture books and their creators that travel throughout Australia and overseas, most recently in Italy, China and Korea. Together in 2000 they were awarded the Pixie O’Harris Award for Distinguished service to Australian Children’s Literature. In 2003 Ann received the Dromkeen Medal awarded annually to an Australian citizen for work that ‘makes a significant contribution to the appreciation and development of children’s literature.’ She lives and works in Melbourne, Australia. The Butterfly, shortlisted for the 1997 NSW Premier’s Award, is her first book with Walker Books.
Reviews
This splendid picture book is a must for anyone who wants to understand the basic concept of Chaos theory … Highly recommended
Magpies
