Arctic butterflies get the spotlight in new children’s book
When most people think of Arctic nature, they usually think about ice and snow, seals and polar bears. But a new children’s book is throwing the spotlight on a lesser known part of the Arctic eco-system, namely, butterflies.
A Children’s Guide to Arctic Butterflies was written by Mia Pelletier, an ecologist who’s travelled extensively in the Canadian Arctic, and was illustrated by Danny Christopher, who was once an instructor at Nunavut Arctic College in Canada’s eastern Arctic.
The book, published in July, describes that while there are 20,000 species of butterflies in the world, only several dozen species are found in the Canadian Arctic.
It also describes how butterflies survive in the Far North and then spotlights 12 different kinds of butterflies found in the Canadian Arctic along with facts about how they live and how they can be identified.
The unique subject is part of what appealed to the book’s publisher.
“When arctic wildlife is represented or discussed, in our experience, bugs and insects are often ignored or overlooked,” Inhabit media, the company that published the book, told Eye on the Arctic.
“Giving children a more all-encompassing idea of the variety of arctic fauna that exists is in keeping with our goal of accurately representing the North.”
A Children’s Guide to Arctic Butterflies is the third book the publisher has done with Pelletier.
Previous books include Avati: Discovering Arctic Ecology and A Children’s Guide to Arctic Birds.
Inhabit Media is an Inuit-owned publisher based in Canada’s eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut and was founded to promote and preserve the territory’s stories.
Write to Eilís Quinn at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Non-fiction book about inuk residential school survivor from Atlantic Canada attracts readers in Poland, CBC News
Finland: Climate change brings new butterfly species to Finland, Yle News
Greenland: “Enough of this postcolonial sh#%” – An interview with Greenlandic author Niviaq Korneliussen, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: O Canada! … A Norwegian writer takes on our country’s features & foibles, Eye on the Arctic
Sweden: Walt Disney Animation Studios to release Saami-language version of “Frozen 2”, Eye on the Arctic
United States: Art exhibit in Alaska connects bird research to backyards, Alaska Public Media Network
