The Grouchy Ladybug

The Grouchy Ladybug

Carle, E. (1996). The grouchy ladybug. New York: HarperCollins.

Age Level: K-2

Genre: The Grouchy Ladybug, originally copyrighted in 1977, is an interactive book where children not only learn to tell time, but is also a concept book where children learn about different animals and insects through comedy/humor.

Summary: The Grouchy Ladybug is a delightful story about manners and conflict.  Carle's unique collage illustrations throughout the book are bright and colorful.

Reflection: Our textbook, Essentials of Children's Literature, 7th edition,  recommended this book.  I have read other Eric Carle books, but for some reason I have never read this one.  As a fan of Carle's art, I jumped at the chance to read one of his books.  The art work in this book does not disappoint.  It is amazing how Carle can take hand-painted paper and make illustrations through collage!

 The Grouchy Ladybug has so many learning opportunities for young readers!  An invaluable part of this book is the opportunity to teach time-telling in a fun way. The book begins with fireflies dancing around the moon and then starts the morning early at five o'clock.  Young readers will enjoy going through the events of the day.  Carle places clocks at the top of each page with the correct time to enhance the learning experience in addition to writing the words on each page.  In the age of digital clocks, this is an exceptional learning tool.

Growing page and word sizes also add to the enjoyment of the book.  Small, Medium, and Large can be used in a variety of ways in this book.  Carle uses smaller font and pictures to show the size of the insect or animal the grouchy little ladybug encounters.  Starting with the smallest hornet which takes up a very mall corner of one page and ending with the largest whale whose body takes up three entire pages.  Math, social studies, and science learning opportunities are endless throughout this book.

The Grouchy Ladybug with all of its multiple learning opportunities is in the end a story about sharing and being nice to each other.  Repetitive phrases throughout the book are "want to fight?" and "if you insist".  After an exhausting day encountering different animals and insects, the grouchy little ladybug finally gets to feast on aphids with a nice, friendly ladybug. 

 This book is a must read to children.  Teaching them about bullying (health), ladybugs and aphids (science), telling time (math), color (art), and size (social studies) The Grouchy Ladybug has it all!  More importantly... it is a good book that you will remember for a lifetime!