Westly: A Spider's Tale by Bryan Beus is a cute children's tale (with some fun illustrations!) about the prince of the Monarch butterflies named Westly, who is totally excited about going through his transformation ceremony. But when he emerges from his cocoon, he's definitely not what he expected to be and the story is about his journey to find out where he truly belongs.
I love that the book started out right into the action. Westly and his friends are introduced just before their transformation ceremony. Everyone else is talking about what it will be like "after" but Westly is eating and preparing to have the best and strongest wings when he emerges from his cocoon. And then Westly saves them all from a "Dirt-Eater" or moth in a dramatic way that had us turning pages as fast as we could! The opening chapters were riveting and gave a solid foundation for the book. The best part for me was how the author really delved deep into the setting and descriptions. They were amazing and made it so easy to visualize this world and the animals in it.
The adventure begins when Westly emerges as a spider and knows he has to leave the beautiful chandelier where the butterflies live. He doesn't belong anymore. He makes all kinds of new friends on his journey of discovery, but has to learn the hard way who he can trust. He also learns that things he's believed his whole life about "Dirt-Eaters" aren't quite right. It's such a great book for kids in seeing that differences can be strengths and sometimes you have to stand out in order to make things right in your world.
I loved reading this book aloud to my children and know it will be a family favorite for a long time to come.
You can download your copy here
for $11.90Here's the back copy:
When Westly emerges from his cocoon, not as a beautiful butterfly, but as a spider, he is rejected byt he butterfly kingdom and undertakes a journey to discover who he really is. But not even the dirt eaters can offer him answers. Not the dragonfly, the centipede, the moth, or even Zug Zug, the fly. None have ever seen an eight-legged creature who can spin webs. However, Westly's new friend the Raven has offered to help. If only the Raven could get inside the glass menagerie where Westly and the other bugs live. Yes, yes, the Raven is sure he could change everything. But sometimes things don't turn out the way we plan.
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