- Door prizes
- Cookie decoration
- Face painting
- Children’s educational & craft activities
Free & open to the public
*Program funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
In support of the Monarch Butterfly Day Celebration, here are some resources from your Tribal Libraries about monarch butterflies.
If any of the resources below prompt you to log in, use your Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Library card! If you need a card (or a replacement card), just fill out our quick online form.
Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science has information about monarch butterflies, plus a highlight on the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve located in Michoacán, Mexico.
Young readers may enjoy some of the ebooks for kids about monarch butterflies that your library provides access to through the Michigan eLibrary (mel.org): Monarch Butterfly by Tracy Kompelien, Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly by Jason Cooper, Monarch Butterfly Life Cycles by Julie Murray, Monarch Butterfly Migration by Grace Hansen, or Winged Wonders: Solving the Monarch Migration Mystery by Meeg Pincus, illustrated by Yas Imamura.
Students can find information in the library’s databases provided by the Michigan eLibrary. Middle school students can find information and photos of monarch butterflies in the Britannica School database, and high school students can find information designed for high school level. Students at the college and university level or those wishing for a more scientific approach may enjoy these articles: The potential of roadside verges as insect habitat: Road salt has few effects on monarch butterfly performance and migration; Mixtures of Milkweed Cardenolides Protect Monarch Butterflies against Parasites; and Magnificent Monarch Migration: This Fall, Help Out These Beautiful Butterflies as They Make Their Yearly Journey South.
We also have ebooks providing deep dives, like Monarchs in a Changing World : Biology and Conservation of an Iconic Butterfly by Karen S. Oberhauser, Kelly R. Nail, and Sonia Altizer, written for a grown-up audience.
Teachers may enjoy these lesson plans: Waiting for the Monarch (Kindergarten), Got to Go! Got to Go! Protecting the Monarch Butterflies (2nd grade), Monarch Mystic Migration (grades 3-4), Let Monarchs Rule (grades 4-6); or this article: Cultivating Teachers' Indigenous Knowledge Through Explorations of Milkweed and Phenology (co-author Hillary Barron is a descendent of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe).
The National Geographic Virtual Library (newly available via the Michigan eLibrary) has several features about monarch butterflies: Found at Last: the Monarch’s Winter Home; Mystery of the Monarch Butterfly; and Great Migrations.
Gardeners may enjoy learning more about monarchs and types of milkweed in the articles The Monarch Butterfly…Long May She Reign, Royal Blues: Monarch decline, milkweed, and what you can do about it, and Monarchs, Milkweed, and You. For hobbyists, there’s Monarch Memories: Inspired by Butterflies, about making a hook rug featuring a vibrant monarch butterfly motif, and Spring Takes Wing: This Monarch Butterfly Project is Fresh, Elegant, and Oh-so-simple, detailing a scroll saw woodworking project (includes pattern).
These are just a sampling of the resources available to you at no additional cost through your Tribal Library! Please feel free to reply to this message with any questions or for more information.