"A close encounter with a Monarch butterfly always strikes me as somewhat magical--and reading Journey's Flight is no different. These unique stories of Journey's adventures, on what seems an impossible migration path, are truly inspired. It's not surprising that young people could capture the heart of a butterfly, and seeing their creative endeavors in the form of this wonderfully illustrated book is pure delight!" --Melody Carlson, butterfly-lover and award-winning author of more than 200 books Using 35 fascinating full color illustrations and photographs, this book tells a story based upon a real event. Journey, a Western Monarch Butterfly did hatch at Sisters Middle School in Central Oregon, on September 15, 2016. He did fly more than 800 miles south setting a record for the longest migration flight of any tagged Oregon Monarch butterfly. In November 2016, his tag number (A6504) was reported in a butterfly sanctuary in Carpinteria, California. Those facts we know. Individuals were there to witness and document Journey's presence in Southern California. The rest of Journey's migration narrative had to be developed by Sisters Middle School students based on what they had learned about Monarch butterflies. Journey's Flight is really a story about us. It's about our interconnectedness. It's a tale of how a small group of students, teachers, scientists, parents, community volunteers, writers and artists came together to create a conservation education project in support of the threatened Western Monarch butterfly. It's a heartwarming story about a trail-blazing butterfly and most especially, about how individuals of all ages, stages of life and backgrounds dedicated time and resources to engage and support students in their dedicated efforts to save these majestic creatures. All profits from the sale of this book go to the Sisters Middle School Butterfly Project. The book also contains many articles and resource materials, including work by Dr. David James - Associate Professor, Department of Entomology, Washington State University David is a research entomologist with 40 years experience on Monarch butterfly biology and ecology in Australia and the United States. He has published 22 scientific papers on Monarch biology which was also the subject of his PhD thesis. He is currently conducting an extensive research program on Monarchs in the Pacific Northwest including studies on breeding and migration ecology and dynamics. He is also coordinating a successful program with Washington State Penitentiary which involves inmate rearing of Monarchs for migration research. Non-incarcerated citizen scientists are also actively involved in this research which is providing a greater understanding of Monarch migration in the Pacific Northwest.
About the Author: Jean Russel Nave is dyslexic and tenacious. She forged a strong tie to Susie Wert's reading students since she grew up dyslexic without the aid of special help with her reading challenge. Jean's efforts to help the students write Journey's migration story and shepherd the formation of the book through the publishing process required hundreds of hours of effort and dedication. Jean's career included working in computer sales and motivational speaking. She was a television host of two local non-fiction series and published five books before retiring in the late 1990s. In 2002, a central Oregon fire chief asked Jean to write a book about a wildfire that destroyed homes where she lived. Subsequently she wrote and illustrated five children's books to raise money for Scottish terrier rescue. A few years ago, Special Education teacher Susie Werts asked Jean to work with her reading students publishing books with the student's stories. In January 2017, Werts asked Jean to help with Journey's Flight. Jean's continuing battle with breast cancer caused a brief pause in the book's production given an operation to remove another tumor in the midst of working on the book.