Marquette, MI--It was a full house at Peter White Public Library Summer Reading & Listening Program Thursday as 80 participants expressed themselves by creating art and books with A Monarch Universe artist Todd Carter.

Todd projected A Monarch Universe eBook onto a big screen for his audience.  Participants watched the picture book audio slideshow.

A Monarch Universe story is told from a Monarch butterfly's dreaming point of view.  The Monarch butterfly dreams about her life cycle, including her "Big Bug," chrysalis, and butterfly stages.  She travels to many different places in the world and universe, where she sees butterfly patterns and expresses feeling at home within her ever-changing universe.

Todd explained how his idea for the book came from watching a morning show about how the Monarch caterpillar forms into a chrysalis and then liquefies before reforming into a butterfly.

Todd said the caterpillar liquefying, and then re-emerging as a butterfly, reminded him of the formation of galaxies and planets.

Todd said a Monarch butterfly inspired him while he was creating the book, and he showed photographs of the Monarch in his yard at home.

Todd said he did a lot of research for A Monarch Universe, and he demonstrated some of the Monarch and Universal Internet resources featured in the eBook.

During a question and answer session, Todd was asked about his background.  Todd said, "I've been painting all of my life."  Todd said his dad was a sign painter, and his toys as a child were "posthole diggers, ladders, and paintbrushes." 

Todd worked as an apprentice sign painter with his father in Florida.  Then he painted signs in Marquette for ten years.  Now Todd owns Career Academy of Marquette, and he continues to paint as a hobby.

After Q&A about Monarchs, migration, nebulas, illustrators, and more, participants got busy creating books and art of their own.  A Monarch Universe coloring books were provided.  Some participants made their own books from scratch, and Todd brought a machine to bind papers together into books. 

After an hour of lively creation, everyone went home with a butterfly book of their own.

What do you think?

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