Ladybug Girl at the Beach

A gentle story of a young girl who is a bit overwhelmed by her first trip to the ocean. The story could so easily have been an earnest tale of parent or big brother helping little one Overcome Her Fears, yawn, yawn, yawn, but instead, the author lets Ladybug Girl explore, imagine, and discover the joys of the beach all on her own.

There are many reasons why I liked this book. One element of the book that I really liked was the language. The language in this story engages readers through its descriptive nature and imagery. For example, in the story the narrator describes the waves on the beach and states that “the ocean goes on and on and makes huge roaring sounds.” The language in this phrase allows the reader to imagine and hear the loudness of the waves because the author used descriptive adjectives to explain the sounds of the waves.

Additionally, the plot contributed to why I liked the book. For example, in the book, at the same moment that Lulu, the main character, and her dog, Bingo, decide to dip their feet in a water, a wave crashes that almost pulls show more them into the ocean. When she looks around and sees that everyone is happily playing in the ocean and does not worry about what happened to them, she realizes that it is okay and normal for that to happen. The timing of this event causes Lulu to face her fear and go into the ocean in order to get an item later on in the story. This plot creates a suspenseful tone that keeps the reader engaged and also is a main contributor to the lesson of the story: it is important to be brave and face your fears. show less

Type: Easy Reader
Recommended For: P
I have to say that I did not like this book. I've been so impressed by some of the picture books I've read, which have had wonderfully interesting content that really respect the children that are reading them. This book does not follow that trend. Ladybug Girl at the Beach is a very basic picture book that doesn't seem very valuable for teaching, except that it have few challenging words sprinkled in it which are a nice small challenge for new readers. The pictures are cute watercolored line drawings, mostly of the main character and her dog. The font is big and dark, another thing that makes it good for early readers. Ladybug Girl has its strengths, but it doesn't challenge any conventions or show more introduce anything unfamiliar to the audience. Ladybug Girl seems behind the times when picture books are including diversity topics and complicated themes. This book is simple and very, very white which could bother students who can't see themselves in this book. This book is okay, but for someone who's looking for something new and different, I'd recommend that they keep looking. show less

I strongly enjoyed this book. I say that for many reasons, but the first reason being the illustrations. The illustrations were very realistic and pleasing to the eye. They were subtle and warm, which gave a lot of detail to the characters appearance. Secondly, I really liked the characters. I say this because they were very believable and everyone had their own personalities and that was portrayed very well. For instance, Lulu was a very hopeful little girl. When her family arrived at the beach she was showing her excitement and her brother quickly shot her excitement down when he said she has never been to the beach before how does she know she is going to like it? Lulu replied quickly with, "But I already know that I love it.". Lulu show more stayed hopeful and ended up having a great day. That takes us to the main idea. I believe the main idea is to always have hope. Even when people are trying to change that or situations seem to contradict with your hope, always stay confident and hopeful. show less

I really enjoyed this book for two reasons. The first reason being that the character was extremely believable. I felt that I could relate to the main character, Lulu. In the story, Lulu has never been to the beach before and is super excited for her first time at the ocean. When she arrived, she was terrified because of how large the waves were. Most readers can connect to this book, as everyone has their own fears that they have to overcome. The second reason I loved this book was due to the illustrations. I thought the pictures in the book did a great job showing the reader how Lulu was feeling. For example, on page four and five, Lulu stands at the ocean, watching the enormous waves. These pages are completely covered with very show more large waves. I was able to see that Lulu was terrified of going into the water without even reading the words on the page.

Being Realistic Fiction, the story provides hope for readers who may be struggling to overcome a fear. In the book, I was able to read about the journey Lulu had. In the beginning she was terrified to enter the ocean because of the large waves. Throughout the story, she learns that the waves were not as bad as she thought. At the end, she wishes she had spent more time in the ocean. The main message the story is portraying is to never let your fears hold you back. Lulu wished she had spent the entire day playing in the ocean, rather than being scared of the waves! show less

Fiction; I enjoyed reading this book for a couple of reasons. I love ladybugs so the illustrations were a plus. There were illustrations before the story began showing Lulu (the main character) reading about the beach and then driving to the beach. It was good build up and made me excited to find out what was going to happen. In the book, Lulu was excited to go to the beach but when she got there was afraid of the ocean because the waves were so big. Eventually, she entered the ocean without realizing it and once she did she loved it. The main point of the story is that Lulu was able to overcome her fear using her alter ego, Ladybug girl. It is inspiring and can be used to talk to children about courage and bravery.

My first IRA in a classroom was with the previous book in the series, Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy. This series by husband and wife writer-illustrating team follows a young girl, Ladybug Girl, and her trusty companion, Bingo the dog. Each book in the series addresses a character quality, fear, or problem that young children encounter. This time, a first trip to the beach brings about a fear of the big, vast ocean and its towering waves. The book sweetly follows the process of overcoming a fear, complete with the support of the protagonist's parents and older brother. The illustrations are pen and ink meets Manga and there are several creative usages of font, color etc in the text. A definite recommendation both within the classroom show more and for reading in the home. show less