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Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite
Dream Butterflies is a children’s book written by P.M. Kelly and illustrated by Connie Kelly. Princess Alysia of Asia is a royal with a heart of ice. She has everything she desires, makes many demands of her servants, and insists on a new in-house adventure every single day. With no friends and no manners, the spoiled young princess often finds herself bored. One day, whilst riding in her royal carriage, she sees a young girl alone and crying. The tearful girl, Yvette, explains that she is sad because girls of the kingdom are unable to dream when they sleep. Princess Alysia tells Yvette that all will be well. The princess is later gifted a room full of butterflies by the royal enchantress, Delia, who tells the princess that she must share the butterflies with all of the girls of the kingdom. But Princess Alysia refuses to share them with the common folk, only to watch the butterflies start to wither and die. Delia returns, chiding the princess for what she has done. In a desperate effort to save the butterflies, Princess Alysia releases them all, and is amazed by the events that unfold due to that one simple, unselfish action.
When selfishness and indifference to others lead to one being bored and shallow, the opportunity to be able to dream is given to a princess that is used to having her heart's every desire, but she can only seize this opportunity if the gift is shared with others. I love the concept behind P.M. Kelly’s magical tale about a princess who wants so desperately to dream and be happy, but not if it means she has to share that happiness with those that she considers beneath her. It is interesting that the princess is so used to getting her own way that she doesn’t think twice when using another human being to step on (literally) in order to climb into her carriage.
Dream Butterflies causes the reader to stop, think, and look within themselves, analyzing the sort of person they truly are in relation to the people around them. The two instances which cause the spoiled child to soften are those which are reflected within herself – another girl’s sorrow at not being able to dream, as well as a living creature dying because it is not permitted freedom. I believe that Dream Butterflies could easily be enjoyed by children aged between 7-12, and enjoyed the book so much that I will be adding it to my book shelf at home, in order to teach the next generation about dreams and humanity.
