Book Review – Hudson's Monarch Nursery

The following review is written by D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer Midwest Book Review and appears in the October 2025 issue of Midwest Book Review and Donovan's Literary Services.

Hudson’s Monarch Nursery

Laurie Sharp

Mascot Kids!/ Amplify Publishing Group

979-8-89138-274-9     $19.95

Author Website: lmsharpbooks.com

Publisher Website: https://mascotbooks.com/

Hudson’s Monarch Nursery is a celebration of butterflies that goes beyond the usual identification and field guide for picture book readers. It explores a young boy’s mandate to collect monarch eggs and caterpillars not for display, but preservation.

Rachel Novel provides good-sized illustrations to accompany the tale of how Hudson and his mother become involved with monarchs, learning about their natural history and preservation requirements.

One of the most powerful messages in his adventure, however, is Hudson’s acknowledgement that:

I take it to heart that I am responsible for caring for its every need. It’s counting on me to now do for it what it would have been doing on its own before I removed it from its natural environment.

This goes beyond the usual natural history focus to add enlightenment and importance to the choices, decisions, and support systems kids and adults participate in as they study and support nature and its environments. It’s a lesson that most adults need to know, as well.

How Hudson works with his mom to identify monarch needs, set up a “critter carrier,” and embrace bigger-picture thinking about their project translates to an exceptional celebration of nature:

I am thrilled to happily watch my caterpillars munching away. Because I know that I am part of something so much bigger than me, and next year, I will be hopefully raising these caterpillars’ great-great-grandchildren. I can’t wait to see and share this amazing, wondrous circle of life!

Libraries and read-aloud adults seeking a butterfly story that flies far from the crowd will welcome the many topics supporting Hudson’s Monarch Nursery, from monarch natural history to the reasons how and why young people can and need to become more cognizant about natural processes and supporting nature.