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What People Are Saying!

Contact: 800-707-1977      Susie@storyofchester.com

Comments about The Story of Chester books and movies

       National Science Teachers Association RECOMMENDS
The Story of Chester book

Paula Phillips
Professional Book Reviewer/ Librarian

“Are you studying Larvae, Caterpillars, Chrysalis and Butterflies ? Wanting to find a resource that you can use to teach preschoolers about the above ? Is your Kindergarten doing a project on the lifecycle of a Butterfly ? As a Children’s and Young Person’s librarian, I am often asked about finding books that will be suited to the preschool age as we have lots for the older children but nothing at a simple level. Not till now, The Story of Chester follows a Caterpillar named Chester through his lifecycle talking about what he eats, what he likes and the way Chester becomes a butterfly. At 24 pages, The Story of Chester is a quick read and will hold the child’s attention . Even better is the colorful photographic illustrations so that the children can sit and immerse themselves into the process that Chester took. What I loved about The Story of Chester was that it also comes with an Interactive DVD which is a short film all about Chester the Caterpillar/Larvae and Butterfly.

The Story of Chester by Susie Vanderlip would make a great resource for all parents and teachers of Toddlers and I am looking forward to using it in one of my visits accompanied by the song “Fuzzy Wuzzy Caterpillar”.”

Leigh Ann Harlan
Mamas Book Corner

“The Story of Chester” is a PHOTO story book for children ages 3 thru 9 that tells the story in photographs and text about Chester, the real-life Monarch caterpillar, on his journey to find his life purpose – to become a beautiful butterfly. Chester, like all Monarch caterpillars, is a determined, ravenous and energetic larva. He has a spunky personality and devours leaves, flowers and seed pods. He sometimes eats cooperatively with his “brother and sister” larva, but sometimes other larva bully and bite him. They do NOT want to share their milkweed leaves with him.

When fully grown after two weeks of huge growth and rambunctious eating behavior, Chester leaves the world he knows on the milkweed plant to trek across the yard and up a tree to make his chrysalis, “a pretty green house, and he didn’t even know he could do it!” He emerges a gorgeous and colorful Monarch butterfly. But there is one thing more left to do. Now Chester the Butterfly must learn how to fly!

“The Story of Chester” teaches about the amazing life cycle of Monarch butterflies in a story format to engage children and promote a love of nature. The Story of Chester is now in several school districts and used in second grade classrooms as part of their Life Science Curriculum, teaching about butterfly life cycle.
“The Story of Chester” has a companion MOVIE/DVD that parallels the entire book with live-action, real-life video of Chester and his life journey. (Goodreads)
My Thoughts:
This story follows Chester, the monarch caterpillar, around from the time he is a larva, through chrysalis, until he becomes a beautiful butterfly. Kids will learn a lot from this book such as what monarch caterpillars eat and how they become butterflies. They get to see real life photographs throughout the book and there is also a DVD that goes along with it. It’s really fun!
This is a great book/DVD to use to teach your children about the life cycle of butterflies. I will definitely be using this with my daycare kids and my own munchkins. My daughter absolutely loved Chester! I’m sure this would also be great for schooling or homeschooling too! I would also like to add that 10% of book with DVD purchase goes to the Monarch Watch to educate and increase habitat for diminishing population of Monarchs. So if you get a copy you are not only helping your children learn about Monarchs but you are also helping Monarchs!
* I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Parents and Grandparents

  • "My entire family thanks Chester is beautiful and something my daughter (who is 6) will keep and pass on to her children. My son (9) is also really enjoying it. Thank you for creating something so intereseting and beautiful!" Mother of 6 and 9 yr old - Ottawa, Canada

  • My 4 year-old grandson couldn't stop watching the video! He played it 10 times in a row! He was totally mesmerized by Chester the Caterpillar.

  • "I read the book to my 5 year-old and she wanted to reread it every night this week. We watched the video 4 times, and I loved it every time, too!"

  • "I adore my grandson and granddaughter - 3 and 6 years old. I'm always looking for something special and fun to share with them. Now, every time I call them they ask me, 'How is Chester, Grandma?' I love how they love him."

  • "My 2-year old doesn't sit still for 30 seconds, so I was amazed when he sat for 9 whole minutes and was glued to the Chester DVD!"

  • "Thank You for Chester! My 6 year old grandson was completely enraptured with Chester. I read him the book and told him Chester the caterpillar’s story was on the DVD. He wanted to see it “right” then and for the rest of the afternoon he kept going back and back to replay. He was so fascinated with Chester and Chester’s journey to become a beautiful butterfly! He told me he wanted to take the book and DVD to school Monday so his friend could see Chester… So I would have to say Chester made a real impression…And I thank you for your effort to create Chester so children of all ages can enjoy the example Chester demonstrates about life!" Grandpa Bob Bruchman

Respected Teachers and Educational Institutions

  • "I really liked your presentation. It covered standards that second graders need to know about Life Cycles. They would never have the opportunity to see a chrysalis open if it were not for your video." Second Grade Teacher, Fullerton elementary school

  • “The live action images of Chester and other caterpillars in your garden are very engaging! Being able to see these interesting creatures crawling, feeding, growing, and developing…is a great opportunity for children to observe the life cycle if they don’t have live larva to view up-close.”~ Kimi Hosoume, FOSS Curriculum Developer, Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley

Second Grade Teachers

  • "Fantastic ideas to take students on a journey of life cycles at their level."

  • "Awesome! I will definitely use this in my class!"

  • "Very exciting, very informative - engaging"

  • "This was the best staff development"

  • "My students will be thrilled to learn about the life cycle of a butterfly!"

  • "I'm so excited to go back and teach this to my class. Awesome book and CD!"

  • "Lots of great ideas!"

  • "Excellent presentation with ideas I can use right away!"

  • I used The Story of Chester book when I was teaching informational writing to my students. This book helped my students see how to write non-fiction material in an attention-grabbing way. It held their interest by having attractive pictures and an entertaining way to tell the story of what the caterpillar eats and its stages of life. My class then watched the video of Chester later that day, and they were riveted. They loved seeing how the butterfly came out of the chrysalis (pupa). I thought the Chester book and movie were thought-provoking learning tools to use in reading, writing, and science. I am glad that I was able to use it in my writing lesson. Teresa Wagenseller, Elementary School Teacher

Media Articles and Reviews

Orange County Register Article about Chester and author Susie Vanderlip

OTTAWA MOMMY CLUB REVIEW – Blogger Julie

“The book is filled with beautiful real images of a caterpillar/larvae that is going through the changes in his life to find his life’s plan: to become a butterfly. The children (almost 2 and almost 5) were engaged right away as I started reading the story to them. The book is very informative …! The pages were bright and colourful and the story was well written and easy for the children to understand.

The next day we watched the video and the kids were really excited! They danced along to the music and followed along with the cute story. Overall I would say that I really liked this book/dvd- I found it to be fun, motivational and at the same time educational. I would definitely recommend it.

Purchase The Story of Chester and other items from the Chester Series!