Loretta's Pet Caterpillar

By Lois Wickstrom

Loretta finds a caterpillar egg on a milkweed plant. She breaks off the leaf and brings it home. Mom won't let Loretta keep it in the house, so she tapes the leaf back on the plant, and watches over the egg. It hatches. It eats the leaf, and more leaves. As the caterpillar grows and molts, Loretta shoos away a bird that wants to eat it. Then a wasp, and even a ladybug. The caterpillar survives. When it forms a chrysalis, a lizard bites it. It heals and eventually a monarch butterfly emerges. In a mixture of pride and sadness, Loretta watches her friend fly away. Plus information on migration, obtaining milkweed seeds for your area, and how to recognize male and female monarch butterflies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LookUnderRocks
• Release date: Jan 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370152544

Lois Wickstrom

Lois is the author of Oliver, A Story about Adoption, winner of the Read America award. She and Francie Mion (artist) have created the Loretta's Insect series: Ladybugs for Loretta, Bees in Loretta's Bonnet, and soon Loretta's Pet Caterpillar. She is co-author of the Nessie's Grotto series with Jean Lorrah, which won the IEBA award. Her Amanda Mini-Mysteries were published in Child Life, and voted "most popular series." She has also been published in The Friend and Highlights. She is the author of the American Chemical Society video "Starting With Safety" and the HRM videos "It's Chemical" series. She was head science teacher at Science in the City in Philadelphia. Her Imagenie science videos are on YouTube. She is an avid gardener, experimental cook, exercise junky, and all-around silly person.

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