A Ladybug's Life (Nature Upclose)

This book is so cute and accurately shows how ladybugs grow from eggs to adult beetles. My kindergarten class loved this story, especially the part at the end that compares children and ladybugs. I love, love, loved this book!

You know, when I read Are You are Ladybug, which I read just prior to this, I didn't think the subject could get any simpler...and I was wrong. This book is, in fact even simpler. It contains much the same information, starting out with a paragraph (on the back of the title page) about the Two-Spotted Lady Bug Beetle, which you can read (I think it's aimed at parents) and from there each page contains one very simple sentence and is accompanied by one very large (but deliciously colorful) illustration. What this book lacks that Are You a Ladybug had was a slightly more complex look at the metamorphosis that the Ladybug Larvae go through (i.e. that they split out of their skin multiple times before finally morphing into the from we are most familiar with). It does take the reader (or listener) through the entire lifecycle of the ladybug and even goes into some of the dangers they face in navigating through the world, but never fear parents of very young children, all ends well in this story. Overall I give it 4 stars, this is strictly for very young children (ages 2-5) who are curious about those flying red bugs they see outside in the spring. A good starter book for kids and a nice breakaway from reading story books for parents who are reading aloud to their small children several times a day.

This small book of 32 pages describes the life and lifecycle of the Adalia Bipunctata or Ladybug beetle. Except for one brief description, which is probably for parents, it has one simple sentence per page, such as "In the early spring, a ladybug lays her eggs on a leaf." I can not speak to the difficulty these sentences might present to newer readers as my children are not reading yet, but the book does contain the following words: aphid, cranefly, larva, mealybug, pupa, robberfly and beetle. The story takes us through the seasons: from early spring where a ladybug is flying away from a leaf where she has laid eggs; to late spring where an emerging larva soon begins devouring aphids. This larva soon changes into a pupa from which a new ladybug emerges. This summer beetle then goes in search of food and has some adventures in which she barely escapes being lunch to a warbler and a praying mantis. Other bugs are eaten by the way. I mention this because some children might find this distressing. Finally, the ladybug looks for a mate. Nothing objectionable for children here, in my opinion, and the next page shows our beetle laying her own eggs. Then everyone hibernates over the winter. Overall a nice story about the life of a ladybug.

"A Ladybug's Life" is written and illustrated by John Himmelman. The text and pictures look at the life cycle of a ladybug, including hatching, metamorphosis, and eventual egg-laying. The book includes a glossary of terms ("aphid," "larva," etc.).Himmelman has crafted some wonderful images: golden ladybug eggs clustered on a green leaf, a ladybug dwarfed by a fierce looking preying mantis, and more. The artist brings to vivid life a world of savage beauty--it's like looking at an exotic science fiction landscape. The book shows predation and evasion of predation, but is not gory and deals with these realities of insect life in a matter-of-fact way. This book is another triumph for the talented Himmelman, who has created in these pages a world that is rich in color, action, and drama.