The American Gardener
"Agrawal addresses a wide range of related topics—from the monarch's life cycle, to historic research, other invertebrates that are part of the milkweed complex, taste aversion, and even mimicry of the monarch’s coloration by other butterflies. The author’s accessible writing style will appeal to both the scientist and lay person. Helpful illustrations and photographs assist in clarifying the narrative."
Booklist
"This comprehensive and colorful illustrated study of monarch biology and behavior . . . offers another reason to admire the versatile insect: its long and successful symbiotic relationship with the otherwise toxic milkweed plant. . . . Agrawal's book will appeal not only to butterfly enthusiasts but also to the environmentally aware and all readers who appreciate solidly written and accessible popular science."
Science Books & Film
"Science strongly indicates all living things evolved from a common ancestor to form the complex biosphere we inhabit on earth. Agrawal deftly plucks one strand from this web of life, the monarch butterfly, and elucidates reverberations that resonate from the dawn of time to the present and back and forth among life forms along the way. . . . Monarch life history on a toxic host laden with cardenolides and largely dependent on migrating vast distances to tiny overwintering sites and back again is the backbone of the book. . . . Color illustrations are abundantly informative, the main text font is eminently legible with a useful index, and the well bound paper stock bodes well for the physical longevity of the book."
From the Publisher
Winner of a 2017 National Outdoor Book Award in Nature and Environment
One of Forbes.com’s 10 Best Biology Books of 2017, chosen by GrrlScientist
Honorable Mention for the 2018 PROSE Award in Popular Science & Popular Mathematics, Association of American Publishers
Longlisted for the 2018 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prizes for Excellence in Science Books, Young Adult Science Books
Winner of the 2018 CBHL Award of Excellence in Gardening and Gardens, Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries
Greg Laden’s Blog
"Fantastic, readable, scientifically rich, detailed. . . . Monarchs and Milkweed is to date the coolest nature or science book I've seen so far this year."
Kirkus
"A lively, highly informative introduction to significant research in ecology that highlights the importance of conserving our natural habitats."
The Cardinal
"Well-illustrated and informative."
Greg Laden’s Blog
"Fantastic, readable, scientifically rich, detailed. . . . Monarchs and Milkweed is to date the coolest nature or science book I've seen so far this year."
Booklist
"This comprehensive and colorful illustrated study of monarch biology and behavior . . . offers another reason to admire the versatile insect: its long and successful symbiotic relationship with the otherwise toxic milkweed plant. . . . Agrawal's book will appeal not only to butterfly enthusiasts but also to the environmentally aware and all readers who appreciate solidly written and accessible popular science."
