Introducing: the untold story of the world's favorite orange butterfly.

Monarch butterflies have swept through the skies (as well as our hearts) for 2 million+ years. These North American natives are famously recognized for dancing their way to and from Mexico each year, but you might be surprised by one of their lesser-known accomplishments: crossing oceans.

Brave the Atlantic with Lacey Lou the monarch butterfly across colorful pages of rhyming words and whimsical pictures by Bella Bankes.

Monarch butterflies have made a home on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. They became permanent residents on the Canary Islands of Spain around 1887, but some scientists believe monarch butterflies have been traversing the ocean for thousands of years. Monarchs can also be found in Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, and rare sightings have occurred in the British Isles. This fictional story based on real phenomenon is for children ages 1-7 and explores the idea that monarch butterflies might just fly across oceans on purpose.

Soar through powerful themes in the book such as resilience, purpose, independence, self-awareness, trusting your intuition, and self-confidence.

This picture book about monarch butterflies is great as a:

• book for children who love insects
• book for kids who love butterflies
• book for a baby shower gift
• book for preschool classrooms
• book for elementary school classrooms
• book for conservation education
• book for early readers
• book for a child's birthday
• nature book for kids

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified monarchs as endangered in July 2022, so now is a great moment in time to learn more about our winged friends.