Ladybugs

April 2, 2012
Working in pen, ink, and watercolor, Gibbons introduces readers to ladybugs, covering ladybug anatomy, different types of ladybugs (such as the two-dotted ladybug and ash-gray ladybug), and their development, predators, and habits. The prose is straightforward—“They live on six of the seven continents. Many scientists believe there are about 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs around the world”—and Gibbons’s artwork is loose and cheerful, though the spreads feel cluttered and a bit dated in terms of layout and font choice. Surprising facts (ladybugs play dead to discourage potential predators) underscore Gibbons’s educational but nondidactic approach. Ages 4–8.

April 1, 2012

K-Gr 3-This well-conceived introduction is one of Gibbons's most attractive and informative presentations to date. Her colorful, realistically painted watercolors, enhanced with black ink outline and detail and some crayon highlighting, fill every page with larger-than-life images, and they are as much a source of information as the fact-filled text. Half of the illustrations include one or more brief notes and/or labels in addition to the oversize text. Gibbons identifies the small beetle's body parts; shows some species of ladybugs from around the world; details the four stages of its life cycle; and discusses its usefulness to farmers and how it protects itself from predators and cold weather. Appended are some additional facts (e.g., "Ladybugs can swim") and the National Geographic websites for the U.S. and Canada. The book contains more report-worthy information for this age group than most other in-print titles. This simply written, clearly organized, thoroughly researched and exceptionally illustrated volume should be a first purchase for most libraries.-Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2012
Grades K-3 The latest fully illustrated book in Gibbons' dependable series introduces ladybugs through short paragraphs of information and colorful, mixed-media artwork. In addition to identifying this insect as a beetle and noting its many different species, the book presents its body parts, food, development, predators, defenses, and protection from cold weather. The pages showing the four stages of development are particularly informative. Rounding out the presentation, the final section emphasizes that the ladybug's diet, which includes many plant-eating insect pests, benefits farms and gardens. The large scale of the artwork enables children to see the parts of the ladybug's body more clearly and to understand better, for example, how the female lays eggs and what happens to the bug's hard, protective wings when the lighter wings beneath them unfold for flight. Bright and informative.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)