I’m glad the calendar says it is spring now — even though the weather doesn’t always concur.

Here is a fitting picture book to usher in the new season. It talks about new beginnings and contains gentle lessons about perseverance and collaboration.

In fact, “Papilio” may be unique in that it was created by three friends — Tacoma author-illustrator Corey R. Tabor and Seattle author-illustrators Ben Clanton and Andy Chou Musser — who came up with the notion of collaborating on a picture book while visiting Seattle’s Washington Park Arboretum. Moseying through a stand of trees is always a good way to come up with new ideas.

In this case, the three pals tried to think about what kind of story they could easily divide into three parts, and the lifecycle of butterflies came to mind: from egg to caterpillar, to chrysalis, to butterfly.

That’s how this picture book tale of a black swallowtail butterfly, Papilio polyxenes, was born.

Clanton launches the story. In a flower-strewn meadow, a green-striped caterpillar hatches from an egg. Papilio is cheerful and curious — and hungry. She instantly starts chomping on the leaf where her egg had been attached.

“The world is one big treat,” she decides.

But then she learns, as all youngsters do, that sometimes there are obstacles that need to be overcome and lessons that need to be learned. Fortunately, a kindly field mouse befriends her and helps her navigate this big new world she’s been born into.

Clanton includes rhymes and fun wordplay to move the story forward. But the caterpillar stage lasts only so long, and once Papilio has eaten her fill, “Got a full belly, time to turn to jelly.”

Then it is Tabor’s turn to take on the narrative and illustrate Papilio’s experiences during the chrysalis stage. Now let’s be honest — it’s tough to give a chrysalis a sparkling personality — this is the stage when the caterpillar dissolves, turning into a substance that resembles goo, and gradually reforming into mature butterfly organs and wings.

But Tabor figures out a way to supply external action in this chrysalis sequence and the friendly mouse continues to play a role, too.

The third segment of the story is taken up by Andy Chou Musser, who shows Papilio’s emergence as a beautiful, if somewhat klutzy, butterfly. It takes practice to learn how to fly well, and in the meantime, there are threats to Papilio’s safety — the trap of sticky spiderwebs, for example, or hungry frogs with their long, fly-zapping tongues.

But Papilio is encouraged by fellow winged insects: a moth, a bumblebee and a dragonfly. The mouse appears again, too. It’s fun to note the subtle changes in its appearance as it is presented by each of the artists.

At the satisfying conclusion of the story, the authors present “a flutter of facts” about butterflies and their interesting traits.

“Papilio” is a fine collaboration between friends and a welcome new picture book to help the young children in your life celebrate springtime renewal.

The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd McMichael, who writes this weekly column focusing on the books, authors and publishers of the Pacific Northwest. Contact her at bkmonger@nwlink.com.

 

This week’s book

“Papilio” by Ben Clanton, Corey R. Tabor and Andy Chou Musser

Viking — 48 pp — $19.99