Former corporate party planner, now an ardent conservationist and butterfly lady, Ellen Federico has written Butterfly Island and the Invincible Crew, a children’s book on the plight of Fire Island’s endangered monarch butterflies. Forced to shift their migratory patterns, they have lost their habitats due to chemical overuse and a changing climate that prevents them from flourishing.
The oldest of eight siblings, the author grew up in a Fire Island clapboard house and returned years later to tell the monarchs’ story. Determined and resilient, her younger self moves the narrative.
Captain Bob is Ellen’s dad (in real life too!), but only on his boat is he in charge. At home, it’s spunky Ellen who “shut down the mutiny fast” when a little sister complains about their crowded bunk room. “No one gets their own room on a boat,” Ellen explains. “On land we’re a crew too,” she adds, emphasizing the importance of cooperation and teamwork.
When she overhears her parents talking about “the thousands of monarch butterflies that used to flutter over the island and now are gone,” Ellen swings into action and gets her “crew” to plant milkweed seeds. “Milkweed is the only plant where monarchs lay their eggs or their caterpillars will eat. No milkweed? No Monarchs,” her mom explains.
The children wait and water the habitat, “but no monarchs visited.” Then, one day, a monarch “fluttered into the garden and laid an egg on a milkweed leaf…” The children are delighted; all is well—until a raging storm wrecks their habitat. Ellen’s house remains intact, but her “can-do spirit is gone…” That is, till her crew returns. They have saved some seeds and want to rebuild. With their encouragement, she bounces back and once again leads the project to fruition. A fine message for youngsters who might lose heart during an undertaking: keep at it, something good will come of it. Ellen is a fine role model for young girls.
Well told, Butterfly Island is entertaining as well as educational, and children will learn about conservation and nature’s delicate balance without realizing they’re being taught—the best kind of learning. The glossary offers new words and their meanings for youngsters to increase their vocabulary; easy-to-read drawings show the sugar-rich nectar plants that monarchs like to eat, the evolution from egg to butterfly, and the migration path of the monarchs.
Federico lives year-round in Lonelyville and is a speaker and certified monarch butterfly conservationist. Known as “The Butterfly Lady of Fire Island,” she has been featured on the Today Show and in The New Yorker magazine. The National Butterfly Center has praised her work and book: “Ellen Federico’s passion for butterflies continues to have an impact beyond her beloved Fire Island. She inspires people to connect with the outdoors and create a healthy habitat that supports butterfly reproduction; not just for monarchs, but for all species!”
Learn more about Ellen Federico on hertelier.com.
Tracy Dockray, also a Fire Island resident who lives in Saltaire, has illustrated more than 30 children’s books. Expressively drawn with a bright, lively palette, her opening spread— showing Captain Bob’s fishing boat atilt in the sea and an oversized monarch butterfly that seems to fly off the page—will draw youngsters right into Ellen’s story. Dockray began planting milkweed seeds after learning about the monarch’s decline.
I’ve been inspired too, and I’m joining the effort. I’m passing along the milkweed seeds I received with my review copy to a friend who has a garden. How about you?
