Children's Corner: Ladybug Girl

Review: We received Ladybug Girl as part of a book exchange with some friends during Christmas. The funny thing is, I bought the same book for the other two girls. I admit when purchasing I didn't know much about it other than it looked cute and I knew the family would enjoy it. It isn't the first one that my daughter picks off her shelf, so when cleaning up one day I decided to re-arrange her books so that this one was in direct line of sight and it worked. We pulled it out the other night to read it again.

At first glance I thought that Ladybug Girl was going to be about dress-up and imagination but it really isn't. What it is about is figuring out how to entertain yourself when your parents are busy and your big brother/sister doesn't want to play with you. My daughter is the oldest and yet I think she has the hardest time figuring out how to play by herself in her room. She's getting a lot better but it's taken some time.

Ladybug Girl goes on her own adventure and makes up things to do as she goes along with her faithful dog right by her side. She learns that making your own fun can be, well, fun. She helps some ants, lays in the sun, dreams up sharks in her pond and then decides she didn't want to play with her brother any way.

I recommend this book if your youngster is feeling a bit left out of things that their older sibling might be doing. The illustrations are lively and bring Ladybug Girl to life. It helps to encourage independence and foster a sense that they can entertain themselves.

There are a other books that involve Ladybug girl and her adventures (Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy , Ladybug Girl at the Beach, etc). Each book seems to deal with different childhood situations: friendship, trying new things, etc. If she keeps pulling Ladybug Girl off her shelf to read, I will add the rest of them to her collection.