Cover and illustrations by Michael Kress-Russick
Cover and illustrations by Michael Kress-Russick

Grace

AND THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

If monarch caterpillars become butterflies, 

can people change too?

Every time Grace tries to leap, she falls. She refuses to quit. While practicing for her ballet recital, she crashes through a fence and crushes some milkweed plants  the only place the monarch butterfly will lay her eggs. After Grace rescues a broken plant, she finds three eggs and decides to help these future butterflies grow. How hard could that be? Very — if you have teasing brothers, doubting friends, humiliating dance rehearsals, and can’t find milkweed. But monarchs need more than milkweed, they need safe habitats. 

Can Grace persuade her friends and family to help the monarchs? Can she start a Butterfly Effect, so the monarchs — and Grace — can become who they were meant to be?

The Backstory

When I started to write GRACE ten years ago, I needed a dose of hope. We’re in an environmental crisis. I wanted to do more than recycle, but I had no idea what. If I felt overwhelmed, I knew kids would too. I centered my story on a struggling kid who finds her purpose by looking after three monarch caterpillars. Thinking about them inspires her to take more action to protect the world they’ll live in. She finds a way to speak for the monarchs. She builds a community. She persuades her dad to replace his poisoned yard with a pollinator garden. Butterflies fly. And we learn that people really can change — just like the monarchs do.

Here's a blog I wrote about being an eco-warrior instead of an eco-worrier. Read it here.

Praise for the book!

"Jane Kelley’s Grace and the Butterfly Effect is destined to have a butterfly effect of its own. Like the delicate flutter of wings that can ripple across the world, this story has the power to spark meaningful change—especially in the hearts of young readers. Kelley weaves environmental awareness into a touching narrative that invites readers to think twice before spraying insecticides or uprooting milkweed, that “weed” so vital to monarchs.

The story’s emotional pull is matched by its educational value. The kid-friendly facts and resources at the end provide curious minds with more to explore, making this both a beautiful read and a practical classroom companion. As someone who used to order painted lady caterpillars for my students so they could witness the miracle of metamorphosis—and later celebrate by releasing butterflies into our school garden—I would have loved to have this book to enrich my life science lessons. Bravo to Jane Kelley for changing the world, one gentle flap at a time—through the power of her words."         - Amy Laundrie, author and educator

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"When the less-than-graceful Grace crashes into a milkweed plant, she commits to saving the future butterflies. But for Grace to achieve the butterfly effect she’s hoping for, she’ll have to overcome a mountain of obstacles. Featuring lovable characters, a quirky community, and a quest worth fighting for, Grace and the Butterfly Effect is just what we all need at this time in history. Young readers and their parents will love stumbling with Grace through this adventure."         - Rochelle Melander, author of Mightier Than the Sword: Rebels, Reformers, and Revolutionaries Who Changed the World through Writing (writenowcoach.com)

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"Meet Grace, a character after my heart, and yours. There are plenty of stories with quirky characters, but very few that come to mind whose distinctions revolve around being both enthusiastic and a notable klutz! In the case of Grace, this early middle grade novel is highly readable and appealing, with the heart of the story shared between an appealingly real Grace and the concerningly real issue of environmental changes that threaten the very existence of butterflies.

A web of people of several ages and relationships intersects with a STEM exploration of the food chain impact on the survival of a species. Specifically, milkweed plants take on dramatic significance as Grace's point of view leads to realistically tense developments. There are loads of moments involving parenting patterns, sibling stress, friendship struggles, a seemingly mean neighbor, and Grace's own growing awareness of bigger pictures than her immediate wants and needs.

This is an important story on many levels, offering significant meat for discussion among kids and adults. Don't miss it."         - Sandy Brehl, author and educator

Jane reads from the novel . . .

NON-FICTION SOURCES

Grace has to learn a lot to help the monarchs. All those details in the novel are based on facts. When I did my research, I learned more about the monarchs than could fit in the story. At the end of the book, I included a section about the monarch’s life cycle and the answers to some things I wondered about. 

Here are some websites I found useful for my research:

I also borrowed stacks of books from my local library. These were in the kids section:

How to Raise Monarch Butterflies: A Step-by-Step Guide for Kids by Carol Pasternak

Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons

Monarch Butterflies: Explore the Life Journey of One of the Winged Wonders of the World by Ann Hobbie

A Butterfly's Life Cycle by Mary R. Dunn

My Life as a Monarch Butterfly by John Sazaklis, illustrated by Duc Nguyen

Flight of the Butterflies by Roberta Edwards, illustrated by Bob Kayganich

These were written for adults: 

Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and their Remarkable Story of Coevolution by Anurag Agrawal

The Monarch: Saving Our Most-Loved Butterfly by Kylee Baumle

Touch a Butterfly: Wildlife Gardening with Kids by April Pulley Sayre

Caterpillar image

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