âA work of art. In each of the pages, you will feel the flow of a powerful energy which will murmur to each of your cells that it is time to come out of hiding, to open the windows, to breathe freely, to dress colorfully⊠to fly.ââLaura Esquivel, author of Like Water for Chocolate
A fable for all ages about a Mexican-American girl who transforms into a monarch butterfly and undertakes the great migration to Mexico, Monarca braids together the values of heritage, ecology, and personal transformation.
On her thirteenth birthday, InĂ©s receives a mysterious necklace from her abuela in Mexico that turns her into a monarch butterflyâthe fulfilment of a prophecy linking InĂ©sâ destiny to her familyâs legacy and the butterfliesâ survival.
The adventure continues as InĂ©s joins the monarchs on their long journey south to the butterfly sanctuary in Mexicoâan odyssey that has become increasingly perilous due to human activity. Together, the swarm travels from the northeast to the swamps of Louisiana to the pine-filled mountain tops of the western Sierra Madre, finally alighting at the Sierra Chincua sanctuary. On this wondrous journey in the vein of Jonathan Livingston Seagull and The Little Prince, InĂ©s discovers the connections between all living beings, and the urgent need to protect the monarchs' migration and habitats.
Divided into four chapters to mirror the four stages in a monarchâs lifeâegg, larva, pupa and butterflyâMonarca blends Mexican folklore, environmentalism, and magical realism in an enchanting novella. This book will inspire readers to protect and cherish the sacred natural world around them.