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182 reviews for:
Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration
Sara Dykman
3.73 AVERAGE
182 reviews for:
Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration
Sara Dykman
3.73 AVERAGE
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Bikes, pollinators, prairie, nature science ... this book is very much in my sweet spot. It follows a long bicycle tour tracing the route of one year's Monarch migration, from Mexico into Canada and back. There are some beautiful passages and insights here, and even the descriptions of bicycle touring, which, as much as I love it, can sometimes be a bit tedious to read about, are handled well here. You get the spirit and feel of the activity without getting bogged down in the minutia of turn-by-turn and minute-by-minute travel. The discussions of monarch and milkweed biology, and their heartbreaking decline due to modern farming practices and neglect, are the most compelling and important part of this book. Recommended.
"Together, many monarchs render a migration. Together, many miles create an adventure. Together, many gardens produce solutions. Our collective voices add up to change. As long as there are adventurer takers, solution makers change instigators and migrants, our actions together equal hope."
"Together, many monarchs render a migration. Together, many miles create an adventure. Together, many gardens produce solutions. Our collective voices add up to change. As long as there are adventurer takers, solution makers change instigators and migrants, our actions together equal hope."
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual harassment
An outdoor educator and field researcher writes of her journey following the migration of butterflies, from Mexico to Canada and back again. On her bike. By herself. As she has done in previous cross-country bike rides, Sara Dykman takes this epic trip to draw attention to the threat posed to the monarch butterfly. The scientific information about that threat and the wonder of the monarchs is great – but mostly liked reading about how she manages to camp, eat and survive on road. And I especially enjoyed the programs she does in schools all during her trip and her fun interaction with kids.
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
I really wanted to like this book, it seemed like a really cool idea. However, it honestly felt like it should have been a long form article on Outside Magazine or something like that. There wasn't that much there in her description of bikepacking that was super compelling to me. The parts about the monarchs were pretty informative, but I still couldn't get over the feeling that this was padded a bit.
A modern trek shows that the public still rallies behind a person with a mission. Through most of 2017, wildlife biologist Sara Dykman followed migrating monarch butterflies on her bicycle, lodging with and befriending people along the way. She pedaled from Mexico north to the United States and up into Canada, and then back south again. Dykman tells the story of her journey in her new memoir, “Bicycling With Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration.”
Read the rest of my review in the Christian Science Monitor.
Read the rest of my review in the Christian Science Monitor.
The author shares an amazing journey, physical, emotional, and educational. The awareness of the plight of the monarchs is highlighted and explained as a world issue in intimate, personal detail that draws anyone in that has any consideration for our planet. Monarchs are a treasure and I saw one the day I finished this book.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
This nonfiction book follows the author on a solo bike tour following the monarch butterfly migration. She set out on this tour to help raise awareness about the problems the monarchs face. Dykman biked from the monarchs’ wintering grounds in Mexico to Canada and back. She gave presentations at schools and community centers along her route, teaching people how they can help the monarch butterflies.
I enjoyed this book. I was drawn to it because I enjoy cycling, but I can’t fathom such a long bike tour. I wanted to see what that would be like.
Dykman is obviously very passionate about conservation. I liked reading about how the book combines her passions with the practical matters of a long bike tour and scientific information. She does an excellent job presenting science and conservation information in an engaging way.
There are some points in the story where Dykman gets a little preachy about conservation, but it is one of her passions, so that could be excused. It’s not overwhelming, and I actually finished this book admiring her dedication to her cause.
This is a great book for teens and adults!
I enjoyed this book. I was drawn to it because I enjoy cycling, but I can’t fathom such a long bike tour. I wanted to see what that would be like.
Dykman is obviously very passionate about conservation. I liked reading about how the book combines her passions with the practical matters of a long bike tour and scientific information. She does an excellent job presenting science and conservation information in an engaging way.
There are some points in the story where Dykman gets a little preachy about conservation, but it is one of her passions, so that could be excused. It’s not overwhelming, and I actually finished this book admiring her dedication to her cause.
This is a great book for teens and adults!