Gotta Go! Gotta Go!
- Book Review,
by Sam Swope, Sue Riddle (Illustrator)
From Publishers Weekly
"I don't know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!" chants a black-and-yellow-striped "creepy-crawly bug" as she proceeds slowly across a meadow. When an ant or grasshopper asks her destination, she restates the imperative and "creepy-crawl[s] away just as fast as she [can] go." All this hurrying wearies her, and after a "long and hard and very strange" nap in a cocoon, she awakens to discover orange-and-black wings on her back. Refreshed, she takes flight and reaches Mexico, where she meets other migrating Monarch butterflies. Swope (The Krazees) suggests the urgency of the caterpillar's mission by treating it as a kind of hard-wired biological destiny; repeated key phrases and the butterfly's simplified life cycle underscore its sense of a natural fate. At the conclusion, the tale comes full circle with the hatching of another creepy-crawly bug. Debut children's book artist Riddle complements the lucid narration with charming ink-and-watercolor miniatures. Her closeups of the metamorphosing heroine give way to aerial views of farm and canyon as the Monarch flies southward; a deft use of white space creates a sense of loneliness for the solo bug, culminating in a graceful dance of butterfly couples in a penultimate spread. The clarity of the storytelling and artwork match the heroine's determination. Ages 3-7. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1-This is the tale of a "creepy-crawly bug" (Monarch caterpillar), who says "I don't know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!" On her long trek, she meets a grasshopper and an ant, takes a "nice long rest" (metamorphosis), and finally reaches the hibernation grove in Mexico. She wakens in spring to "dance" with another creepy-crawly bug before heading north again to lay her eggs-"-the reason for everything." An author's note and the jacket blurb provide some factual fodder for parents and teachers. Small, full-color illustrations accompany the text. They are attractive, but unremarkable. For a supremely better introduction to the miraculous world of butterfly metamorphosis, try Deborah Heiligman's From Caterpillar to Butterfly (HarperCollins, 1996) or Mary Ling's Butterfly (DK, 1992); for Monarchs in particular use Gail Gibbons's Monarch Butterfly (Holiday, 1989); and for the mysteries of migration, April Pulley Sayre's poetic Home at Last: A Song of Migration (Holt, 1998) is a gem.Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
"I don't know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!" Through the experience of one tiny creepy-crawly, this small square book dramatizes the astonishing journey of the monarch butterfly, and the powerful instinct that drives it to fly as much as 3,000 miles from the U. S. to Mexico for the winter, then mate there and fly back north to lay its eggs. The small, uncluttered, line-and-watercolor pictures are set in lots of white space. The words are simple and urgent. Even preschoolers will feel the excitement about this most fragile of creatures that can fly so far and prove so strong. The miracle of the transformation is there on the page when the sturdy little insect emerges from the cocoon transformed into a butterfly, "orange and black and splendid," with gorgeous fluttering wings that nearly fill the page. Then there are pages where it flies and flies, and the butterfly is just a speck in the sky above farms and highways, forests and desert ("I am what I am and I know what I know, and make it or not, I gotta go!"). Like Red-Eyed Tree Frog, Booklist's 1999 Top of the List for Nonfiction, this is a story that brings the wonder of the natural world right up close to a preschooler, without condescension or distortion. The rhythmic storytelling bears repeated readings, and many kids will want to go on from here to find out more about this astonishing creature. Hazel Rochman
From Kirkus Reviews
The heroic, 3,000-mile, annual migration of monarch butterflies to the mountains of Mexico is the inspiration for this picture book from Swope. A small caterpillar emerges from her egg driven by the relentless urge: ``I don't know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!'' Despite the fact she doesn't have a clue as to what or where Mexico is, she valiantly sets out on her journey. En route she encounters other bugs who question her decision, yet she perseveres. Swope's descriptions of these travels and the inevitable transformation, after a long snooze, of the caterpillar into a monarch have an accurate, scientific basis yet are couched in child-friendly terms, e.g., the mating ritual is presented as a dance. Riddle makes use of vivid, glowing colors to capture the majesty of this perennial favorite on the curriculum circuit; with the text, the simple, direct art offers a precious glimpse at an amazing journey. (Picture book. 3-7) -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
"I don’t know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!" Through the experience of one tiny creepy-crawly, this small square book dramatizes the astonishing journey of the monarch butterfly, and the powerful instinct that drives it to fly as much as 3,000 miles from the U.S. to Mexico for the winter." –Starred, Booklist
Review
"I don’t know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!" Through the experience of one tiny creepy-crawly, this small square book dramatizes the astonishing journey of the monarch butterfly, and the powerful instinct that drives it to fly as much as 3,000 miles from the U.S. to Mexico for the winter." –Starred, Booklist
Book Description
An incredible journey
"I don't know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!" The creepy-crawly bug doesn't know why she does what she does. She only knows she has to do it. But making the journey seems impossible for the slow-moving critter, who has no idea what or where Mexico is. Then an everyday miracle occurs, bringing a transformation that will help her fulfill her destiny. Each autumn, millions of Monarch butterflies migrate from the central and eastern United States and Canada to colonies in the mountains of Mexico, where they mate before flying north in the spring to lay their eggs. In simple, jaunty text and pictures, Sam Swope and Sue Riddle celebrate the amazing story of one of these intrepid bugs.
Card catalog description
Although she does not know why or how, a small creepy-crawly bug is certain that she must make her way to Mexico.
About the Author
Sam Swope is the author of two previous picture books, The Krazees and The Araboolies of Liberty Street. He lives in New York City. Sue Riddle lives in Providence, Rhode Island. This is her first book.
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