Butterfly Wings

About the Book

Follow the story of a young Native American girl as she comes to understand her mother's illness and deals with her eventual death.  The special bond between mother and daughter demonstrates the beautiful and sensitive way in which a mother prepares her daughter to continue her life journey without her.  For parents and children, especially those facing the death of a loved one, this is a must read.

About the Author

Author

The author, Mary Ann Babcock, lives in a suburb of Detroit where she and her husband raised their five children.  She has a graduate degree in Nursing from the University of Michigan and has worked in Women’s Health, and Community Health.  She also taught Nursing at a Community College and at a University for a number of years.  Her personal experience with death and dying and hospice, however, is what led her to write Butterfly Wings.  She first became entranced with the culture and spirituality of the Native Americans as a child, having spent family vacations in rustic northern Michigan, which is rich in their history, customs and art.  Having read Native American literature extensively, she chose that setting to present her story.

Illustrator

Krista McKinnon Hines lived in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan as a child, and as early as she can remember she has had a dream of becoming an illustrator.  Her parents and teachers supported her in becoming an artist throughout her childhood.  Krista graduated from Wayne State University, in Detroit, with an Art Education degree.  After student teaching under the elementary art teacher she had as a child, she became an art teacher herself.  She had found her other passion in life!  Krista taught for a few years, until moving to Conifer, Colorado with her family, where she currently lives.  Now a self-employed art teacher, Krista is teaching classes out of her art studio and around the area.  She also sells her own artwork at a gallery in a local town.  Krista keeps busy with her two daughters, volunteering in her community, and enjoying the beauty of Colorado.  Illustrating Butterfly Wings allowed her to live out her dream.  The book fulfilled Krista’s goal and inspired her to begin working on a second book, watercolors with hidden images.