Ladybug, Ladybug

by Ruth Brown

Expanding on a well-known nursery rhyme, the author tells of a wayward ladybug who makes a long journey over a varied landscape to her home

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Born in 1941, Ruth Brown is the creator of some of Britain's best loved children's books. She has created a great many picture books for Andersen Press and is highly respected as an author and illustrator.
She attended Bournemouth College of Art, 1957–59; Birmingham College of Art, degree (with first-class honors), 1961; Royal College of Art, M.A., 1964.
She is married to artist Ken Brown and they have two grown-up sons and one grandchild.

Reviews

[Dominique Trimboli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is created with rhyme, and uses repetitive language. Throughout the book there are many different animals used as the scenery of each page. This helps the reader learn what each animal looks like and their habitat. It takes the word ladybug and repeats it twice before each phrase to show the reader how it is an important part of the book. The illustration is older and not as eye catching as the book was published in 1988. If the book was re-illustrated, it may catch the reader’s attention. This book could be used in the classroom to help children rhyme.

[Celeste Bittner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ladybug, Ladybug was a nursery rhyme about a ladybug who is trying to find her way back home to her children. Ladybug encounters several animals who are willing to help her, or that could be dangerous to her. At the end of the nursery rhyme, Ladybug finds her children safely at home and can finally rest with them. This would be a great book to read to children at bed time.

[Hella de Vries · Rating 3 out of 5]

Allereerst heeft dit boek prachtige illustraties. Dit boek brengt me direct terug naar mijn jeugd. Toen ik jong was is dit boekje vaak aan mij voorgelezen. Zelf heb ik deze ook eens voorgelezen aan groep 3. De leerlingen vonden het een leuk verhaaltje en vonden vooral de tekeningen erbij erg mooi om te bekijken.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite beautiful

[Vincent Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ladybug Ladybug" by Ruth Brown tells the adventure of a curious ladybug. Throughout this story, the ladybug is worried that her home in the wheat field is on fire, and the ladybug is in search for her children. The ladybug is unsure of where to search for the children, so she looks everywhere. During this process, the ladybug meets several wildlife organisms including frogs, pigs, crows, cats, squirrels, and bees. None of these creatures are much help for ladybug, but she remains confident she will return home safely to her children. Finally, the story ends happily ever after with ladybug safely returning home to her children.

The first thing that catches my eye in this story is how elegant and lifelike the illustrations are. I really like the lively illustrations in this story because they catch the reader’s attention. For example, I really like how the illustrator makes the ladybug very tiny but bright red. The small size of the ladybug along with the natural background of tans and yellows representing wheat fields make the ladybug stand out on each page. To me, I believe children see these illustrations as a fun game because they have to hunt for the ladybug on each page. Additionally, I like how the setting for this story is in the wheat field, and the pictures in this story are drawn with the ground as the focal point. With this being said, the wheat stalks are very tall, and the lily pads in the pond are very big in comparison to the size of the ladybug. These are interesting details in the illustrations because the ground is the natural habitat for a ladybug, so the illustrations are made from the ladybug's perspective. Furthermore, I believe that this book’s illustrations give children a realistic look at nature and the habitat of an animal like a ladybug.

While keeping these ideas in mind, the text in this story does teach children a few good lessons. For example, it teaches the importance of responsibility and not giving up. These ideas are noticeable when the ladybug keeps trying to find her way home to her children, despite her early failures. With this being said though, I am not particularly fond of the text in this story overall. Specifically, I do not like the idea of the ladybug’s house catching on fire because I believe that this idea is a scary thing for a young child. Furthermore, I think that this plot could provoke unneeded stress for a young child who should feel secure in mom and dad’s home. Therefore, I would only recommend this story to children who are just looking at the pictures to interpret the story. I recommend this book for its illustrations because the details in the illustrations allow children to use their imagination throughout the story to come up with their own ideas on what the ladybug is conversing with the other wildlife animals about. Even though I personally enjoyed this book overall, I still think the text needs to be altered slightly for young children that are able to read.

[midnightfaerie]

Another wonderful story by Ruth Brown. After reading A Dark, dark tale, I fell in love with her, and hoped I'd find some more "dark" stories in the Ruth Brown collection. While this isn't dark in any way, it IS, however, a wonderful story with some unusual and completely unique aspects to it. The story is adorable, the illustrations are so detailed! My 3 yr old twins liked the pictures, and it had few words, so it was easy to keep my kids engaged. My 5 yr old, loved the book as well. Just an overall fun book that's a great addition to any children's collection. I can't wait to read more Ruth Brown!

[Lenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the classic ladybug poem, but the part about her house being on fire and her children alone (or gone?) always seemed a little extreme for a poem about such a lovely little creature. That is why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5; the author could have re-worded it.

[Megan Chonczynski · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations are so colorful and beautiful. This book tells the story of a lady bug and how she has to survive. There is a little bit of information that is given, this book would go good with a non-fiction book about ladybugs.

[Nojood Alsudairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the rhyme in this book.

[Rose]

E Bro

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find myself looking for Ruth Brown's books at the library just so I can look at the illustrations. Simple stories, gorgeous illustrations.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the paintings. E. is particularly taken with the cat.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this adaptation of the familiar nursery rhyme, Ladybug encounters a variety of animals while rushing home to her children.