Book review and craft - Lucy Ladybird by Sharon King-Chai

Lucy Ladybird (affiliate link) is the debut picture book from writer and designer Sharon King-Chai. The story follows Lucy Ladybird, who is different to the other ladybirds because she has no spots. She goes on a journey through different seasons, collecting some brightly coloured spots from her friends along the way. When she returns home, she is sad when she realises that she is still different to her ladybird friends with their black spots. But when the other ladybirds see her they like her new spots so much that they decide it's actually best to be different.

Lucy Ladybird is a firm favourite in this household already. The story is simple, and what really makes the book special are the gorgeous, bright illustrations. The final page is a fold-out surprise page - a marvellous spread of  cheerful ladybirds and other insects covered in their colourful spots. Once Harry discovered this he couldn't stop unfolding it to look at it, and Mia was captivated by the bright colours.

This is a book which immediately lent itself to a related craft activity. We cut out simple ladybird bodies from red card, then I cut out a head, face and lots of coloured spots. The little ones glued the spots onto the ladybird body, then we glued all the pieces together and drew on a face. I love books that you can do more with than just reading!

There is also a Lucy Ladybird website to enhance the enjoyment of the book further, including some colouring pages to print. Lucy Ladybird will also soon be available as an interactive e-book. It's definitely a book that I can recommend!

We were sent a copy of Lucy Ladybird to review.