Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Ladybug Girl
Illustrator: Jacky Davis
Picture Book Series
For ages 4 to 8
Penguin, 2008 ISBN: 978-0803731950
Lulu is dressed as a ladybug today, complete with spotted wings, spotted boots, an antenna headband, and a red leotard with a tutu. This morning Lulu’s parents have “work to do around the house” so Lulu is going to have to entertain herself. Her big brother refuses to let her play baseball with him because he thinks Lulu is “too little.” It is all very annoying!
At first Lulu cannot think of a single thing to do. Then she counts all the L’s that she can find on the spines of the books in the living room. She waters and measures her avocado plant, which never seems to grow.
Outside Lulu helps a line of ants by moving a rock from their path. She braves the depths of the puddle by running across it. Lulu fixes a stone wall, making it “bigger and better than before.” She even skips all the way down the trunk of a toppled-over tree. Surely all these things prove that Lulu is a not-so-little girl.
All too often children and adults forget to appreciate the little triumphs that we have in our lives. Sometimes these triumphs can be incredibly precious and rewarding. In this gentle and often amusing picture book, David Soman and Jacky Davis show us how one little girl figures out that she is not all that little after all because she does things that make her feel “as big as the whole outdoors.” What a magical and empowering book to share with a young child.
