I Lived on Butterfly Hill
Written by Marjorie Agosin
Illustrated by Lee White
Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Celeste Marconi is a dreamer. She lives peacefully among friends and neighbors and family in the idyllic town of Valparaiso, Chile until one day when warships are spotted in the harbor and schoolmates start disappearing from class without a word. Celeste doesn’t quite know what is happening, but one thing is clear: no one is safe, not anymore. The country has been taken over by a government that declares artists, protestors, and anyone who helps the needy to be considered subversive and dangerous to Chile’s future. So Celeste’s parents her educated, generous, kind parents must go into hiding before they, too, disappear. Before they do, however, they send Celeste to America to protect her. As Celeste adapts to her new life in Maine, she never stops dreaming of Chile. But even after democracy is restored to her home country, questions remain: Will her parents reemerge from hiding? Will she ever be truly safe again? Accented with interior artwork, steeped in the history of Pinochet’s catastrophic takeover of Chile, and based on many true events, this multicultural ode to the power of revolution, words, and love is both indelibly brave and heartwrenchingly graceful.
Look for the Spanish version, Viví en el cerro Mariposa.
Primary ISBN: 9781416953449
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback
Chapter Book, Age 09 or older
Community Represented: Chilean/Chilean American
Themes: Family Separation: Living with Other Family or Friends, Own Voices/Lived Experience, Refugee: War/Conflict, Unaccompanied Minors
Setting: Chile, United States
Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Refugee
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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