I say again and again and I reiterate that one can never go wrong with a book authored by Julia Donaldson, and “What the Ladybird Heard” is no exception whatsoever. Shaarav never gets tired of spotting the ladybird and he grew so fond of the little ladybird that we even had to include it in his birthday decor. And because of him we had to get all the four books in the series (though here we’ll be talking about just the one). Lydia Monks’ collage style zany illustrations in flamboyant colours keep Shaarav mesmerized and glued to the book.

What the Ladybird Heard

What’s the story?

“What the Ladybird Heard” is a rollicking farmyard mystery of how a quiet and inconspicuous ladybird who overhears two thieves making plans to steal the fine prize cow from the farm cleverly spoils their plan and get them caught. The ladybird is the tiniest and quietest creature in a farm full of noisy animals. One day she overhears two sly thieves plotting a cunning a plan to steal the farmer’s fine prize cow. The ladybird which had never ever spoken a word before decides to tell the animals about the plan. In addition, the clever ladybird devises an ingenious counter plan to ruin the thieves’ plan, save the fine prize cow from being stolen and get the thieves caught.

What did we like about it?

We loved everything about “What the Ladybird Heard”, from a perfect gripping story told in clever and witty rhyming couplets which flows rhythmically with much humour, to stunning and vibrant illustrations keeping Shaarav engaged, to the noisy farm with different animals making funny animal noises. Shaarav loves the rhyming animal noise chorus and joins them each time I read it aloud to him. The animals in the books are engaging enough for him and makes the reading all the more fun. The gorgeously stylish illustration and a wonderfully adventurous story to go along is an added bonus which sure will win little hearts.

Book Details

Written by: Julia Donaldson

Illustrated by: Lydia Monks

Published by: Macmillan Children’s Books

Genre: Fiction Picture Book

Book Type: Board book (Paperback, Hardcover and Audiobook also available)

Recommended Age: 2 to 5

Number of pages: 24

Ratings: 10/10

What’s there for the child to learn?

The clever ladybird in the book “What the Ladybird Heard” gives children several instances of great and powerful message. Shaarav is a talkative kid and has never found difficulty in communicating himself. The book appeals to him as well but would appeal more to children who are quiet. The books conveys the message how helping someone in need is a good thing and also how any problem can be solved if we worked together. Books like these with small but strong messages are definitely a keeper.

As part of the bookish play we decided to have a storytelling session (read aloud) and do some book related activities. For the activities we decided to make a ladybird. We made the ladybird out of a paper plate. Shaarav painted the paper plate in red, then he added black spots cut out from a black-coloured chart paper and pasted them on the plate. He then stuck the face of the ladybird with the eyes and antennae on it. In the end, he pasted its legs and tada, our ladybird was all set to adorn our wall.

Shaarav thoroughly enjoyed making his forever favourite ladybird and we had a perfect bonding time. This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z challenge. with the theme #BondingOverBooks. Keep watching the space for our book recommendation for the alphabet I tomorrow. You could also check our book review with alphabet G from yesterday too for another great review and book related activities.

Love,

Mrs. Sunshine

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