Gr 3-4-Katie the Caterpillar is hurt when Speckles the Spider and Crumbs the Cricket call her ugly. Annie the Ant befriends Katie, and all the insects are surprised when Katie becomes a beautiful butterfly. Carl Sommer cleverly uses insect metamorphosis as a jumping off point to show that character is more important than appearance. Sommer reads his story as the cartoon-style illustrations appear on screen. Although the bright colors may attract viewers, children accustomed to lively animation may lose interest. Classical music plays during the narration and, at times, its volume nearly overwhelms the narration. Sommer expands on the book's character-building lessons during live-action discussions with a diverse group of elementary school children. However, these sequences frequently interrupt the story, and might have been more effective had they been inserted more sparingly. Bonus features include "Insights with Carl Sommer," in which he describes his inspirations and recaps the story's key themes, and a song and a video that reinforce these values. This production will be most useful where character-building lessons are an integral part of the curriculum.-Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A lion cub who bears a strong resemblance to a certain Disney character learns to accept his heritage. A caterpillar is teased for being ugly until she transforms into a butterfly. Both familiar stories are poorly written and gaudily illustrated. With dust jackets that list each story's specific moral qualities--such as self-esteem and respect for others--these cloying books are little more than didactic tracts in smiling animals' clothing. From HORN BOOK Spring 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.