I Lived On Butterfly Hill

Agosin, M., & O'Connor, E. (2014). I lived on Butterfly Hill. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Eleven-year-old Celeste Marconi lives happily in Valparaíso, Chile with her parents, her Abuela Frida, and her Nana Delfina. Celeste’s life is perfect until the military warships arrive in the harbor. Soon after Chile’s President, President Alarcoń, is killed and a dictator referred to as The General takes over. Those who are artists, poets, writers, or those who help the poor are considered subversives by the new regime and must go into hiding in order to survive. Celeste’s parents are doctors who care for the poor, so they must escape leaving Celeste behind. After her parent’s departure, life in Chile gets worse so Celeste is sent to live in Maine with her aunt. Celeste must learn to live in a foreign place with a foreign language. Three years later Celeste faces her return home, but doesn’t know what she will find left in her beautiful Valparaíso. I Lived on Butterfly Hill is the winner of the 2015 Pura Belpré Author Award. This novel can be used to teach a unit on government as well as teach a lesson comparing the similarities and differences between democracy and dictatorship and the consequences on the people.