Bev Davis

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Author Bev Davis.

media release: Stop in before Summer Exploratory and learn from author Bev Davis about her book, Winging It, and how family members can work together to protect and save the Monarch butterfly.  LIBRARY PATIO …7/28 …2-3 P.M.

Learn what simple supplies and plants you can put in place at your home to help these butterflies thrive.  In case of rain this event will move inside to the library’s Community Room.  

Now that summer is in full swing, count yourself lucky if you spot orange and black monarch butterflies in your garden. 

For many years, in some areas of the country, Monarch numbers have been declining. In the last 40 years, the National Geographic has reported that the eastern population of Monarchs, those that migrate to Mexico each winter, have declined by about 80 percent. On the West Coast, where other monarchs spend the winter, Science magazine reported a drop by nearly 90 percent in the local Monarch population.

California’s monarch population has fallen from 200,000 in 2017, to about 29,000 in 2018 and in 2019, less than 2,000.

Why Milkweed is Important 

Monarchs have been threatened because of their diminishing habitat, particularly milkweed which they depend on for nourishment and survival.

Where milkweed plants once grew along roads, railroad tracks, prairies, and open ground, many areas have been cleared to make way for progress. Climate change, insecticides, habitat loss and wildfires may all contribute to the decline in monarch populations, but there’s still much to learn.

You can help Monarchs by planting nectar-rich plants and milkweed in your yard. Many people are taking up the cause and involving all members of the family, young and old. They are not only making a difference in their community, by helping monarchs thrive and survive they’ve grown closer as a family.

Children’s Book Shows Kids How to Help Monarchs

Author Bev Davis’s book for all family members, Winging It –A Monarch Love Story looks at monarch butterflies’ life cycles and how children and adults together can save and protect them. 

Her book, Winging It (www.bevdavisauthor.com) has won several national awards ----Readers’ Favorite Award, Big NY City Book Award, Distinguished Favorite in Children’s Fiction (2020). The Purple Dragonfly Award for Green Books, Environmental (2020) and the Pinnacle Award (2020). 

Davis’s book tells the story of how a grandmother and granddaughter (based on a real story) teamed up to save hundreds of monarch butterflies by protecting the caterpillars in Mason jars until the butterfly blossoming period was over. It’s an easy project for families to do together.

The Madison-based author is also a chaplain at Meriter Hospital and a speaker on the topic of anti-bullying. She wrote the acclaimed Great Gray children’s book series that revolved around the elephant, Great Gray and the importance of love, self-esteem, and kindness. The stories came to her when she was doing her chaplain residency at a Wisconsin hospital.

She holds a Masters of Divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago and is also a Certified Dementia Practitioner (NCCDP). She is a member of Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

From Mason Jars to Milkweed Gardens

Based on a true story, Winging It is based on the work a grandmother and her granddaughter achieved to save monarchs. The book features “Chesterina,” a monarch who is guided to life by her real human friends, Grandma Eileen and her granddaughter, Maya, real heroes admired by Davis.

Once the butterflies were ‘born’ the family took the Mason jars to a Chicago botanical garden where an abundance of milkweed grows. Then they transferred the monarchs to their new home.

The book is dedicated to Pat, a dedicated Monarch midwife, and to Eileen and Maya, a grandmother and granddaughter team beyond compare. The book is also an ode to Edna White, gone too soon. She is the namesake of Edna’s Garden where milkweed is now plentiful. Because of Edna’s guidance, the Beverly/Morgan Park neighborhood of Chicago is a place of beauty –for butterflies and humans.