Picture Book Thursday: Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy

Today we're featuring Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy by David Soman and Jacky Davis. This is the sequel to Ladybug Girl (I reposted my earlier review at the bottom of this post). In this installment, Lulu aka Ladybug Girl goes to the park with her mother and dog, Bingo. There she finds her friend Sam playing in the sand and asks if he wants to play. They start with the question, "What should we play?" with each giving suggestions the other isn't very excited about. Growing more and more frustrated with each other, Lulu finally asks him if he wants to play Ladybug Girl. Intrigued, he asks more about it and when he hears that Ladybug Girl can fly and has superpowers, he's hooked. Sam becomes Bumblebee boy (because of this yellow and black striped shirt) and they are off on many bug adventures saving the playground from scary squirrels, tire swing robots and snake-slides. A couple other girls see how much fun they are having and soon Dragonfly Girl and Butterfly Girl join in the fun and the Bug Squad is formed.

I actually like this book better than the original (although, the first one is great too) mostly because its timing is perfect for our family. It shows kids compromising and working out how to play with each other. My five year old is at the age where I'm trying to teach her about compromise when it comes to playing with others. We've had a few playdates that didn't go very well because the kids couldn't agree on what to play. I love that this book shows the children continuing to work it out even though they are getting frustrated and that they finally figure out something they both want to do that really fun. Also great that the mothers never got involved. The kids worked it out on their own. This book definitely has a great lesson in it for the 4-6 age group!

About the Authors: David Soman and Jacky Davis are the husband-and-wife creative team behind the New York Times bestselling book Ladybug Girl. Ladybug Girl was inspired by their daughter. At the playground, they saw how important issues of friendship and compromise were to her. From these observations Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy was born. The couple lives with their family in Rosendale, New York. Ms. Davis currently does freelance graphic design and is involved in local environmental groups. Mr. Soman has been an instructor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City for 15 years, and at the Mill Street Loft, a non-profit arts education center in the Hudson Valley, for the past five. It looks like a third Ladybug Girl book is in the works for Summer 2010!

My previous condensed review of Ladybug Girl:
We don't own this one, but discovered it while browsing at the book store. Lulu's older brother doesn't want her to play with him because she's too little so she becomes Ladybug Girl and finds her own fun right in her own backyard. Great book showing how entertaining it can be to use your imagination and make your own fun.

Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy was released March 5th so you can now find both books at your local bookstore! A great book for spring!