Park City-based author Melissa Marsted has opened the cocoon of “Flora’s Winged Adventure,” her newest entry in her “Wildlife Adventures for Young Readers” book series. The new book follows Flora, a monarch butterfly, on her migration from Canada to Mexico. “I always wanted to wri te about monarchs,” she said. “Where I used to live in California was this big grove that was well known for butterfly migrations.” Marsted, whose books also showcase national parks and monuments throughout North America, decided to follow a different route with this book.  “I wanted to tap into some of the historic parks on the East Coast because I have pretty much covered the national parks west of the Continental Divide,” she said. After doing some research, she discovered a butterfly route that goes south from Maine and decided to explore it. “So, I made up my mind that I would follow the Appalachian Trail and hit the parks along the way to Georgia, where Springer Mountain is,” she said. Once the butterflies get to the peak, which is part of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, they veer west through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, Marsted said. Parkite Melissa Marsted is the author of the “Wildlife Adventures for Young Readers” series, which tells stories of animals who visit national parks, forests and historic sites. Her new book is “Flora’s Winged Adventure.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Lucky Penny Publications “Then the route crosses into Texas and then down into Mexico,” she said. Marsted, who has a goal to visit all 50 states, has been trying to get her and her dog, Clover, to the Deep South in her Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van for the past three years, but she postponed the trips because of the weather. “It’s been too hot, but this time I actually did it,” she said. “So, I have one state left, Alaska.” During her jaunt to the South, Marsted wanted to visit a couple of parks in Louisiana, including the big one — Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. “It’s about an hour out of New Orleans, and when I got there, it was going through some construction, so it was all blocked off,” she said. “So, I cut across the Gulf Coast, which I loved, and spent my best night in Biloxi, Mississippi.” In the book, Flora visits Shenandoah National Park, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, and the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia, Marsted said. “There is also one beautiful night scene at the Great Smoky Mountains, which borders Tennessee and North Carolina,” she said. “We were going to stop at DeSoto National Forest in Mississippi, but there was severe damage from five tornadoes that touched down in May.” The book’s illustrator, Alexandra Elhner, also worked with Marsted on her previous book, “Pascal’s Year of Adventures,” which featured a beaver named Pascal. This time around, Marsted asked Elhner, who works for the National Forest Service on Lake Superior in Wisconsin, to co-author the new book. Melissa Marsted’s new children’s book, “Flora’s Winged Adventure,” which is about a monarch butterfly, also features illustrations of other pollinators such as bats by Alexandra Lehner. In addition to illustrating the book, Lehner is the co-author. Credit: Image courtesy of Lucky Penny Publications “We chatted about different things, and I found out that Alex knows a lot about monarchs,” Marsted said. “She sent her last illustration to me on March 27, my son’s birthday.”  Every page features images of Flora and another pollinator, Marsted said. “So, we have bats, hummingbirds and moths,” she said. “In all of our books, we do a map, so we have the route the butterflies follow. And we also have a page that shows the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly. Alex did a wonderful job with that.” Marsted reached out to Aileen Aquino to design the book, but Aquino, who designed “Pascal,” wasn’t available. “So, Polly Hopkins, who owned a tea shop, designed the new book,” Marsted said.  Hopkins, who is based in Bend, Oregon, designed a book Marsted never finished. “It is a collection of essays from people who were evacuated from the 2008 wildfires in California,” said Marsted, who lost her home in those fires. “I reached out to Polly, and she agreed to do it. So, all of these people are converging in my life and coming together.” Marsted, who does readings of her books in schools across Utah, came up with the idea for “Flora’s Winged Adventure” in May. The eBook and audio book was finished last month, and the print edition is now available for order through Marsted’s publishing company, Lucky Penny Publications and amazon.com. The book recently caught the eye of Adriane Herrick Juarez, the Park City Library director. “‘Flora’s Winged Adventure’ beautifully transforms the remarkable migration of the monarch butterfly into a story that will inspire wonder, curiosity and compassion in young readers,” she said in a statement. “Co-authors Melissa and Alex remind us that even the smallest creatures play an essential role in our world — and that protecting nature begins with understanding its incredible journeys.” Like all of Marsted’s “Wildlife Adventures for Young Readers” books, “Flora’s Winged Adventure” will also be available at select National Park and State Park visitor centers, as well as other outlets. For information about Melissa Marsted, Lucky Penny Publications and the ‘Wildlife Adventures for Young Readers,’ visit luckypennypublications.com. The post Children’s book series continues to soar with ‘Flora’s Winged Adventure’ appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less