A Thousand White Butterflies

A very sweet story about a girl who has recently arrived in America, her father is still waiting for permission to get in and she is just about to start school. This is just a day in her life as she is trying to adjust to her new environment and hopefully make new friends! A wonderful read for kids, especially as it deals with how hard it might be to adjust to a new place and that you should always try to make new friends!

*Thanks Netgalley and Charlesbridge for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for my copy of A Thousand White Butterflies by Jessica Betancourt-Perez & Karen Lynn Williams. It publishes January 19, 2021.
I had the help of two 8-year-olds and a 6-year-old for the reading and reviewing of this book.
This beautifully illustrated and written book is a bittersweet story that introduces children to the loneliness experienced coming to a new country, and missing family members left behind. I think it's a sweet story that is gentle but doesn't shy away completely from a hard to explain and understand topic.
This would make a great gift!

I got to learn new words and a new language!

I got so excited like the child in me who loves reading the best, warm storybooks like this.

This story tells the story of an immigrant child who's feeling quite lonely and is looking forward to make new friends at her new school. But the school has been cancelled because of heavy snowfall.

I love how realistic the characters are represented in this little story. I love the illustrations. They are solid.

A must keep.

Thank you, authors and the publisher for the advance reading copy.

A warm story about a girl longing for the home and father she left behind in Columbia while adapting to her new home in America. The book is filled with Spanish words used in context making it easy to follow and interpret with glossary terms in the back.

This story is an own voices book. The author moved to the United States from Colombia in 2005. Her family split up to begin a new life in the US with her mother and grandmother, while her father stayed in Colombia for 7 years. In A THOUSAND WHITE BUTTERFLIES, the main character is excited for her first day at school, missing her father who is still in Colombia, and ready to make new friends and no longer feel lonely. On the first day of school, she wakes up and is ready to go when a snowstorm means school is cancelled. She is sad and lonely, longing to start school and make friends. Suddenly, a girl slips in her driveway and she runs outside, beginning a new friendship and a new adventure. I loved that this was own voices & the representation it gives students who are immigrants or students whose families are split apart due to various circumstances.

A lovely litle story of an immigrant child who is missing her Papa but is still excited to make new friends in her new school in the US. But when the snow falls, it looks like her plans are ruined. Or are they?

I loved the depth within the simple words. Through beautiful illustrations and heart-touching words, Jessica Betancourt-Perez makes us connect with little Isabella. She also gives us a glimpse into Columbia with her wonderful use of the native words and accessories.

A beautiful book with a deep message.

I really enjoyed this story and the illustrations are stunning - they work so well with the story and really do bring the book to life.

The main focus of the book is on a little girl called Isabella, she has recently arrived in the US from Columbia and is about to being her new life and will be starting a new school, but her dad is not yet with the rest of her family so it goes through her worries and concerns.

The book has a great focus on making friends and feeling alone.

The book deals with a couple of tough topics really well - it is 5 stars from me for this one, very well written and the author really gets the message across - very highly recommended!

A lovely bilingual picture book, about an immigrant girl from Columbia. She's so excited to meet new friends at school, until school gets cancelled due to the falling snow outside. She still finds a way to make a friend anyways!

I really like how some Spanish words and phrases are mixed in to the story, which is mostly told in English. (Plus, there's a glossary in the back -- just in case.)

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in return for an honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. A Thousand White Butterflies is a precious story about Isabella, who is a recent immigrant from Columbia. She lives with her parents and Abuela (grandmother). She’s excited to start at her new school, while missing her grandfather, who is still waiting to come to America from Columbia. Her first day of school ends up getting canceled due to snow and Isabella thinks she might not get to make new friends today after all. She sees a girl playing in the snow and her day turns around. This was a sweet book with beautiful illustrations. There are many kids who will see themselves in this

Thank you to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for an opportunity to see an advance copy of A Thousand White Butterflies by Jessica Betancourt-Perez & Karen Lynn Williams. It publishes January 19, 2021.
A sweet story of snow and friendship while also giving the perspective of a child who has recently immigrated to the United States with her mother while her father is still Columbia.
Friendship, sharing experiences, and embracing change are all approachable themes in this picture book perfect for preschoolers and early elementary school-age kids.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I really liked the Spanish language inserts. Probably the only children's book I have read that has mentioned Colombia. It is a cute story about a little girl and a snow day.

I love books written in two languages. A Thousand White Butterflies was a treat.A young immigrant girl can't wait to go to school and is filed with anxious anticipation. She's all set to go when, Surprise! Snow day! Despite her disappointment, she makes new friends and discovers more about her new world.

Review to come on the 8th of January to blog/Goodreads.

I received this book from Netgalley/publisher in exchange of an honest review.


This book just looked and sounded too adorable to pass up! A story about an immigrant girl who experiences her first snow and first snow day. I know about snow, but we don’t have snowdays so I always love reading about them in books. They sound amazing! I wish we could have days off because of weather.

Our girl is eager to start school, to make some friends (I love how she had everything ready for the day), but then instead of her first day of school she gets a first day of snow! One would be happy about that, but our girl just looked forward to school so much she isn’t that happy. But I knew things would change, because snow means tons of fun things! And I didn’t have to wait long. I loved that despite some language problems these girls were having a fantastic day. Friendship and having fun overrules any language problem!

I loved that the title was about the snow! Thousand white butterflies, I am going to remember that next time when snow falls.

I was actually happily surprised! I learned some Spanish at a course years ago, I tried keeping up with it when I moved away but you know how it goes, other things come in between, but apparently some stuff stayed in my head! I understood most of the Spanish that was said here and I was just so proud of myself. Now I may be motivated to try again, because Spanish is such a pretty language.

I normally don’t read authors’ notes, but I did in this one. Or well, I glanced over and read the first sentence and just had to continue. It was interesting learning more about the author and the illustrator. How they met, about immigrants, and more.

The art is also very cute and adorable!

All in all, I had tons of fun reading this one. We may not have any snow yet, but this book brought snow to me.

This is a beautiful little picture book, both in words and illustrations. An immigrant story told in both English and Spanish, it manages to capture about a dozen different emotions, both simple and complicated, in so few words. The simple joy of snow, its beauty and the fun of playing in it (especially for the first time); the excitement of beginning a new journey; disappointment at a loss, however momentary; missing someone you love who is far away; making a new friend. This book is truly a gem.

This is a light and uplifting story that would be perfect for early childhood classrooms and the youngest of readers. The little girl in this story has just moved to the United States with her mother from Colombia. They are living with her grandmother, but her father stayed behind until he receives permission to immigrate. This division of loved ones is true of so many families these days and the text and illustrations do a wonderful job of conveying how hard this can be for young children, without providing overwhelming details. Just their faces tell the story.

When the first day of school is cancelled due to snow, the little girl is missing her friends in Colombia. She is lonely and had been looking forward to meeting new people at school. Looking out the window, she sees a little girl playing in the snow. She immediately gets dressed in her own snow gear to head outside to play. Young children are sometimes the best at getting to know each other without a common language. You don't need to speak English or Spanish to make a snowman.

At the end of the day, the little girl has positive news to share with her father. This simple story communicates so much about love, friendship, and acceptance without much text. The combination of Spanish and English is helpful for all readers.

This was such an enchanting little tale about an immigrant girl having to start all over in America. The illustrations were so beautiful and evocative, I really think they brought the story to life.

I think this book would be perfect for anyone that has felt alone, for any immigrant that had to start over in a new country, for all those people that simply need more hope in their lives.

Thank you to #NetGalley for sharing this beautiful story about a little girl experiencing the anticipation of going to a new school and making new friends in a new country. When an unexpected snow day cancels her school plans, Isabella experiences her first snow, comparing the falling flakes to "a thousand white butterflies," and makes a new friend as they play together in the snow. The upcoming day at school is now even sweeter knowing she will have a friend. Generational relationships are depicted with her Abuela and mother (her father is still in Columbia waiting to join them), and the book has a positive, hopeful tone. This is a heartwarming, sweet story about making a new friend that normalizes immigration, a much-needed story right now. The author's notes at the end tell how the authors came to collaborate on this book. I will definitely recommend this for purchase by our library, and will share it with children.

A Thousand White Butterflies is the story of Isabella, a recent immigrant from Colombia, and her first experience with snow! She's supposed to go to school, but there's a snow day. She goes outside to play and meets a new friend, Katie. This book was so sweet and told the story of a snow day through a new lens!

This is an own voices story that is simple beautiful.

The story is about a girl who migrates to the US from Colombia with her mom. Her grandmother is in the US too. Her dad is in Colombia.
She is about to start new school, learn a new language , make new friends.
Amongst all this she misses her father.
It snows in the US which is unfamiliar with and is unsure about.
But the snow helps her make a new friend with whom she makes a snowman.

Her school is also canceled due to the snow.
She draws a picture of the snow man and wishes to send it back to her father.
Finally she gets ready mentally for a new day at school.
This is such a heartwarming story of this child. Adjusting to a whole new culture is incredibly hard and the author has done a wonderful job of showcasing the different nuances.
I loved reading through this!

Isabella has recently arrived from Colombia with her mother and abuela.

It's her first day of school, her make-new-friends day, but when classes are cancelled because of too much snow, Isabella misses Colombia more than ever.

Then Isabella meets Katie and finds out that making friends in the cold is easier than she thought!

This is such a lovely picture book - the illustrations are honestly so cute and beautiful!

The thing I love most is that even though the text is mostly in English, there are also some sentences in Spanish in it, with a glossary at the end of the book. I think this is great, because it either provide some familiarity if you are reading this to your kids and they might be in a similar situation as Isabella - or it teaches your kids (and yourself!) a couple of words in a new language!

I cannot express how adorable this little picture book is! Isabella is about to start her first day at a school in the US. She recently moved from Columbia and is super excited about making new friends. Unfortunately, she wakes up on her first day to find a snowstorm and school has been cancelled. She meets a neighbor friend and they have fun all day together! I loved this so much! I loved that the girls played together and were able to understand each other without speaking the same language. I loved that there was no prejudice or fear of someone new. They were just kids! I loved it so much. I loved the Spanish mixed in! I just thoroughly enjoyed it!

This book is DARLING! So touching to read about new friendships, especially now with our normal being shaken up. Especially beautiful is the rawness of being newly moved in, not from the country, totally new climate. This book is about extending your hand - a hand of friendship and support and trying a new perspective.

Absolutely adorable tale of friendship and love! The fact that this book is a wonderful example of diversity is a very sweet plus. Great to read with your littles!

This book is cute & could be relatable to any kid who has moved but holds a special place for immigrant children. The main character misses her family but looks forward to meeting new friends. When an unexpected snowstorm arrives that stops her from going to school, she is disappointed. But that sudden storm leads to friends in unexpected places, despite language barriers. A fun, sweet story.

This was simply lovely. It’s an immigrant story of a child who can’t wait to make new friends in her new county but a snow days spoils the fun. Or does it? I really enjoyed how the author didn’t translate the book, and used Spanish as the characters would naturally speak.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A young girl from Columbia is looking forward to her first day of school. Her papa is still in Columbia waiting to travel. The girl is excited for her first day of school in the United States, but then it snows and they get a snow day and she is very sad about it.

This was a great book about diversity, moving, making new friends, starting over, and snow days. I really loved this book and I think a lot of kids (and adults) will definitely relate to it.