From the time she first emerged from an egg, the “teeny-tiny creepy-crawly bug” was alone in the world, but she had these words in her head: “Gotta go! Gotta go! Gotta go to Mexico!” Even young readers will observe that this “bug” is a caterpillar and that her journey to Mexico takes her through the various stages of metamorphosis that all monarch butterflies must undergo. Sam Swope’s minimalist art initially uses subdued colors, so the emergence of the orange monarch from her chrysalis is truly glorious. Sue Riddle’s cogent text uses a rhymed refrain that will hold the attention of young listeners. (Ages 3-6)

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.