Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy

I really adore this book. Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy is a story I had not read before, and I am so glad that I had the chance to read it. It is one of the most delightful contemporary realistic fiction children’s books I have read this semester. In my opinion, the author’s offer a very simple, lighthearted story about something all young people experience: playtime disagreements. The first aspect of this text that made it so likeable is the characters. The main characters, Sam and Lulu are two very well-defined characters in that their personalities are bold and representative of the qualities of most children their age. This fact makes these characters, and therefore this story very relatable. I also enjoyed the way the authors show more incorporated some interactive material in their writing because this encourages readers to participate in the story and think critically about the problem. For example, Soman and Davis write, “Lulu’s cheeks are getting hot. She is very frustrated. Why doesn’t Sam want to play?” This leads into yet another aspect of this book that I like very much: the plot. The plot itself is actually quite powerful in terms of addressing a younger audience, but the authors have turned the important concept into a cute, fresh, and humorous story. “’If we’re going to play together,’ says Ladybug Girl, ‘we don’t fight each other.’” The big idea of this book is that even though you may not want to compromise, but often times, fighting will make matters worse, whereas simply working together can produce a more favorable outcome. show less

This is a great book to teach children about friendships and compromising. The illustrations in this book are full of detail and color. This book is a part of the Ladybug Girl Series and I would love to have it on my bookshelf in my future classroom.

Soman, D., & Davis, J. (2009). Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.

9780803733398

Appetizer: Dressed as a ladybug, Lulu heads to the park with her dog, Bingo and her mom. She looks for a friend and finds Sam, but the two have trouble deciding on a game they both want to play.

I absolutely love the sense of imagination of this picturebook. Normal kids imaging that they are superheroes and that the playground is full of villains they must conquer is very realistic. I also liked that pretending to be superheroes was shown as an empowering role for Lulu to take on and by doing so she was able to resolve conflicts with other kids.

In terms of the illustrations...I liked them fine. The eyes of the human show more characters had an anime vibe going. Also, with a lot of the settings in the illustrations weren't completely filled in, so character would walk across white spaces that was a little off putting.

A red flag did fly up when Sam becomes Bumblebee Boy and picks up a stick to be his stinger. While it's a very realistic depiction of what a child would do, a teacher may want to pause to remind kids that sticks can be dangerous. The illustrations never show him pointing the stick at anyone and the things he attempts to sting are all inanimate objects, but it a warning flag went up. It was a small, little, itty-bitty flag, but a flag, nonetheless.

Of course, the other issue with the stinger is that it's such an obvious phallic symbol. Obviously the kindergartners won't pick up on that. But still....

Dinner Conversation:

"Ladybug Girl is ready to play!" says Lulu.
She has been waiting forever to go to her favorite playground--the one with the twisty slide and bouncy dinosaurs."

"When she sees Mrs. Robbins carrying her groceries, Ladybug Girl swoops over to help. The bag is as heavy as a boulder, but it isn't a problem for Ladybug Girl."

"When they get to the playground, it is full of kids. While Bingo settles into his spot under a bench, Lulu looks around for someone to play with."

"You don't want to do anything I want to do!"
"And you don't want to do what I want!" Sam grumbled.
Lulu's cheeks are getting hot.
She is very frustrated! Why doesn't Sam want to play? She definitely didn't have this problem on the way to the playground, when she was Ladybug Girl!"

To Go with the Meal:

This would be an excellent book to share with young readers to discuss rules for the playground and to encourage kids to include one another in imaginative play and to accommodate the different games that each child wanted to play.

This story also focuses on superheroes in a purely positive way that encourages children to be empowered. Of course, there are still references to battling villains (which are all inanimate objects in the story), but some parents might interpret that as encouragement of violence.

Tasty Rating: !!!! show less

There are three specific reasons why I feel Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy is a story worth reading!!! This adorable children's book is written by a husband and wife duo, David Soman and Jacky Davis, based on the pretend play of their two children. The story captures the adventures of Ladybug girl and Bumblebee boy so well through each beautiful illustration, the descriptive language, and the characters to portray a message of friendship and perseverance and innocence.

First and foremost, the characters, Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy, are simply the cutest make believers. Their imagination makes the story. Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy are most likely around six years old, thus, their imagination is 100% believable. I can see all show more sweet and innocent children playing like they do. For example, the two run towards the swings and Bumblebee Boy says, “Watch how high I can fly!” as Ladybug Girl then says, “I can fly high too!” Most all children, even adults talking to their children, have said “we are flying.” Children can relate to these two imagination masters, making it a great children’s book.

Next, the illustrations most definitely enhance the story. Each illustration goes along with the descriptive language to emphasize the acting being done by the two imagination makers. For instance, in an illustration Ladybug Girl is standing on a tire swing, looking very determined, as Bumblebee Boy is using a stick as a stinger, like he is stinging the tire swing, also looking fierce. The language to support the picture says, “They rush over to the Mean Robot. Ladybug Girl grabs on, and jumps on top of its head! Bumblebee Boy stings it with his stinger again and again.” They are just the cutest two little imagination masters. show less

Summary: Ladybug girl is on her way to the playground. when she arrives she meets with her friend Sam. they want to play together but cannot agree on what to play because they don't find something in common that they like. After proposing different things to play Ladybug states that she has superpowers as a ladybug and that they should play that. Sam's interest is caught immediately and they decide that Sam will be Bumblebee boy and that they will save whoever is in danger. After successfully saving a few dangerous situations two little girls join their group (butterfly and dragonfly). Ladybug clarifies that there will be no fighting because they are a team. It was a successful play date at the playground.

Comments:
I thought it was a show more good demonstration of not only friendship but also imagination. Ladybug Girl is actually dressed as a ladybug and I like how her mother, who accompanies her, is in total agreement with that because this shows that she lets her child's imagination run. The illustrations are good in that they depict very well what is going on in the story. I also liked how they used color not only in the illustrations but also every time we see the words Ladybug Girl (in red) and Bumblebee boy (in yellow). This helps children identify the two main characters. show less

The conflict is realistic and the characters are loveable. I am certain that many children could identify with both Lulu and Sam. I found their series of imaginary events quite entertaining and not too far off from what I have watched my own children do. The ending of the book, where Lulu and Sam quickly and wisely solve a conflict between 2 girls seems a little unrealistic, but serves as a good model for those children who are listening to the story and who might find themselves in similar situations.

This book about friendship, sharing, comprise, and adventure is great for students. The little girl has trouble initially when she finds out her friend doesn't enjoy the things she does. But soon she realizes that together they can play something that they both enjoy. They learn compromise within friendship when they decide on the characters they are going to be in the imaginary world they have created. They also compromise about the things they do, and when a problem arises they solve it by working it out together. Lulu (the little girl) got very frustrated, and so did Sam, when they couldn't decide on a game to play, however they solved the problem together. This is a great moral for children to learn at a young age because many show more children are still in the stage in which their minds believe that everyone shares their viewpoint, and that they are the most important person. Children can learn about how to manage a true friendship by always taking turns, and doing things each other likes, or talking it out and coming up with new ways to play just like Lulu and Sam did in the story. show less