Maxilla: A story of respecting nature (and a giveaway!)

Recently, we were blessed to receive a copy of "Maxilla" to read. This book is based on a real-life story of Reuben, who finds a caterpillar in the school garden. He names the little creature Maxilla, and decides to keep her as a pet. However, he finds out that Maxilla would not be able to thrive in captivity, and has to decide whether he should continue to keep his new pet, or return her to her natural habitat. 

I read the story to both the older boys, and Junior J enjoyed the simple story. Lil J was busy looking for the caterpillar in the lovely illustrations. I particularly loved the message of the book: to respect nature and how sometimes being loving means letting go. We go on walks frequently, and I think it is important for the boys to learn how to respect nature, and not disturb the living creatures they encounter during those outdoor forays.  

From the learning point of view, this book was useful in teaching the life-cycle of the butterfly (the book also includes a description of the life cycle from Maxilla's point of view). To complement our reading, we did a couple of butterfly crafts. 

The boys painted on toilet rolls and paper cut into the shape of butterfly wings...

... and we added goggly eyes and antennae using pipe cleaners.

We also made these caterpillar/butterfly crafts (you can get the instructions here). These were supposed to unfold into butterflies:

What was interesting was that Junior J folded the ice-cream sticks around the caterpillar and declared that was the chrysalis, before unfolding it to reveal the butterfly wings!

These activities aside, you could also try getting the butterfly kit from Oh Farms so you can observe the caterpillars pupating and turning into butterflies. Or try this pasta activity (that comes with a lovely printable), which used different shaped pasta to represent the different stages in the life cycle of the butterfly.

And if your child loves hearing stories being read to him/her, there would be story-telling sessions by the author of the book, Lianne Ong, in March:

      - 15 March, 1 to 2pm at MPH Bookstores, Parkway Parade

      - 21 March, 12 to 1pm at Woodlands Regional Library, Programme Zone

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MPH Bookstores is kindly giving away a copy of "Maxilla" to THREE blog readers! Just follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter widget below to enter in the giveaway (please remember to leave your email address in the comments so we can contact you if you win!):

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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PPS: The usual disclaimer. We received a copy of "Maxilla" from MPH Bookstores for review purposes. No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are our own.