Title
Red Butterfly
Illustrator
Amy June Bates
Publisher
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Year
2015
ISBN
9781481411097
Pages
392 pages
Genre
realism
Format
novel in verse
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
A young orphaned girl in modern-day China discovers the meaning of family in this inspiring story told in verse, in the tradition of Inside Out and Back Again and Sold. Kara never met her birth mother. Abandoned as an infant, she was taken in by an American woman living in China. Now eleven, Kara spends most of her time in their apartment, wondering why she and Mama cannot leave the city of Tianjin and go live with Daddy in Montana. Mama tells Kara to be content with what she has -- but what if Kara secretly wants more? Told in lyrical, moving verse, Red Butterfly is the story of a girl learning to trust her own voice, discovering that love and family are limitless, and finding the wings she needs to reach new heights.
Grade Level
3-5, 6-8
Lexile Measure
830L
Diversity Topics
Family Relationships; Racial Diversity; Disability and Health; Adoption; Interracial; Physical disability; adopted child; adoptive mother; interracial/transracial adoption; interracial family; deformed hand
Main Character
female child
Race/Ethnicities
Chinese / White
Family Formation
adoptive mother
Awards
Cybils Awards, 2015, Nominee, Poetry
Washington State Book Award, 2016, Winner, Middle Reader
20 Years of Dia, 2016 Grades 6-8
Guide Book to Gift Books, 2016 Books for Middle Readers
Kirkus Book Review Stars, 2014
Notable Children's Books, 2016 Middle Readers
Keywords
Tianjin; China; illegal adoption; visa; foundling; abnormalities; new family; abandonment; truth
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
Sonnichsen, A. L., "Red Butterfly" (2015). Diverse Families. 308.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/308