My three year old is completely infatuated with Ladybug Girl. I don’t really mind this, except when she gets upset when return books to the library. My seven year old never really got into the series. I know that we read a few of them, but I think some were even just board book versions and they never really jumped out at her. Now that E is reading them, I have come to really enjoy the series and see them as a great way to teach kids some valuable lessons about independence, believing in yourself, bravery, sharing, caring and friendship. It’s nice when these come wrapped up in fun stories and cute pictures and are not overly dogmatic.
The first book that E really got into is Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad. This is the first official play date of a group that meets during Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy. Ladybug Girl, aka Lulu, has big idea of exactly how the play date will go and what they will do. Things don’t always go her way, but usually she is okay with it. When they are given cupcakes with candles and one child doesn’t blow the candle out exactly as Lulu specified, she blows it out for her resulting in hurt feelings and anger. Lulu feels badly and wants to apologize but doesn’t quite know how. However, Ladybug girl isn’t afraid of anything and figures out how to do it. It is a great story about playing with others and understanding that you can’t always be the boss.
A week or so ago we also checked out the original Ladybug Girl story, which I’m sure we only had in board book version. This is another wonderful book about a little girl who has to figure out what to do with herself for a day and just like most little girls, she looks around her room that is full of toys and says that there is nothing to do. Her older brother is playing baseball and tells her that she is too little to play. Luckily, she has an absolutely awesome backyard to go exploring in and she shows him that she is not too little – she is Ladybug Girl! She has marvelous adventures and proves to herself that she can do anything – from helping ants to building forts and catching flying leaves. Not only does she have a great day, but she is doing it outside.
The only regular Ladybug Girl book that we actually own is Ladybug Girl and the Beach. In this story, Lulu experiences the beach for the first time but is frightened by the pull of the water. She keeps herself busy doing all sorts of other things, but when the ocean starts to pull away her favorite pale it is Ladybug Girl to the rescue and she realizes that the ocean isn’t so scary after all.
We’ve read Bumblebee Boy, but I don’t remember it very well. Looks like I’m going to have to check that out as well as the other two and update this post after we read them. If you’re looking for a great story for young kids, this is a great series.
I have not read one Ladybug Girl book. Glad to get a sense of what the books are about and the lessons learned. It’s great your son loves them so much.