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What the Ladybug Heard
Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len have a cunning plan: they’ll sneak past all the animals and steal the farmer’s fine prize cow. But they forget all about the tiniest, quietest creature on the farm—the ladybug. She has a plan of her own. Julia Donaldson turns her literary expertise to a farm setting, and comes up with a rollicking barnyard mystery.Lydia Monks' colorful collage illu...more
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
May 11th 2010
by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
(first published March 6th 2009)
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In this story we meet a very quiet but clever ladybird. The story is set on a farm where the ladybird lives with the rest of her farmyard friends. On overhearing two robbers plotting to steal the farmer’s prize cow, the ladybird comes up with a clever plan to stop them.
The story is written in a rhyming pattern, ‘a fat red hen, a duck on a pond, and a goose in a pen’. Donaldson also makes use of alliteration, ‘a hairy hog, a handsome horse and a dainty dog’, throughout this story. Children are i...more
The story is written in a rhyming pattern, ‘a fat red hen, a duck on a pond, and a goose in a pen’. Donaldson also makes use of alliteration, ‘a hairy hog, a handsome horse and a dainty dog’, throughout this story. Children are i...more
Help, I'm falling mildly in love with Julia Donaldson!
This was a quick pick of a book, only as I (along with half the world) had already read and enjoyed 'The Gruffalo'. The book is based on a farmyard where all the animals communicate, but the resident ladybird stays quiet and listens. The ladybird overhears a plot by two robbers to steal the farmers prize cow. As with 'The Gruffalo' a similar theme runs through this book, in this case a farmyard full of animals plot to outsmart the thieves fro...more
This was a quick pick of a book, only as I (along with half the world) had already read and enjoyed 'The Gruffalo'. The book is based on a farmyard where all the animals communicate, but the resident ladybird stays quiet and listens. The ladybird overhears a plot by two robbers to steal the farmers prize cow. As with 'The Gruffalo' a similar theme runs through this book, in this case a farmyard full of animals plot to outsmart the thieves fro...more
Mar 14, 2013
Beth
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Children ages 1-5 and their parents
Shelves:
will-s-favorite-reads
Another fantastic read for children and parents from Julia Donaldson. Two bad men, Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len, plot to steal the Farmer's fine prize cow. The Ladybird (that's Ladybug to us Yanks), who has never said a word, is the only creature on the farm who overhears their plot. Will she be able rally the troops and thwart the bad men?
My son (2 yrs) loves to listen to this story - it is a frequently requested read around our house. He enjoys finding the Ladybird on each page, and making the noi...more
My son (2 yrs) loves to listen to this story - it is a frequently requested read around our house. He enjoys finding the Ladybird on each page, and making the noi...more
This book is just so cute. The American text was slightly changed from the original British one so that the rhymes could be kept. (The British version is "What the Ladybird Heard".) A play on the noises animals make is made in order to foil a plot, overheard by the ladybug, to steal the prize cow. Each animal makes the sound of another in order to confuse the robbers, all at the behest of the quiet little ladybug, who relates the nefarious plans of the robbers to her farmyard pals. The robbers a...more
What the Ladybird Heard is set in a noisy farm yard where the lady bird never says a word, but she does see and listen to the two men in a van planning on stealing the prize cow! She goes back to the farmyard and tells the animals of the thieves plan and comes up with a cunning plan of her own to stop the men stealing the cow.
This Julia Donaldson story allows plenty of opportunities for children to make the animal noises and to laugh. With the rhyming story and the simply beautiful illustration...more
This Julia Donaldson story allows plenty of opportunities for children to make the animal noises and to laugh. With the rhyming story and the simply beautiful illustration...more
The cow says "moo!" and the hen says "cluck!"
"Hiss!" says the goose and "Quack" says the duck.... but the ladybug says not a word, so she's the one who overheard the plot concocted by two bad men (Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len) to kidnap the prize cow. And Ladybug concocts her own plan, gets all the animals involved, so when the two bad men (Hefty Hug and Lanky Len) sneak into the farm and follow the path they think they should (left at the horse, right past the hog) they are easily led astray by the...more
"Hiss!" says the goose and "Quack" says the duck.... but the ladybug says not a word, so she's the one who overheard the plot concocted by two bad men (Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len) to kidnap the prize cow. And Ladybug concocts her own plan, gets all the animals involved, so when the two bad men (Hefty Hug and Lanky Len) sneak into the farm and follow the path they think they should (left at the horse, right past the hog) they are easily led astray by the...more
This humorous, rhyming tale is the story of a silent ladybird, living amongst a noisy cohort of farm animals. She is almost overlooked, until..... She witnesses Lanky Len and Hefty Hugh attempting to steal the farmer's fine prize cow. A plot ensues, hatched by the ladybird herself, to confuse and fool the thieves and scupper their dastardly plans! Extremely fun to read along with children, who seem to love the rhyming animal noise chorus and recite it by heart, with accompanying hisses and oinks...more
Have you ever thought a ladybug would save the day? Because she's small and quiet, the ladybug overhears the entire plan of two thieves to steal the farm's prize cow. She immediately comes up with a plan to foil the robbers and keep the farm safe and breaks her silence for one day.
The concept is neat, but has several aspects that fall flat. The rhyme is generally good, but the cadence is tricky and some of the text tries too hard. The illustrations also are generally good, but some of the mixed...more
The concept is neat, but has several aspects that fall flat. The rhyme is generally good, but the cadence is tricky and some of the text tries too hard. The illustrations also are generally good, but some of the mixed...more
A witty farmyard thriller from the author of THE Gruffalo! This book is excellent in every way. The cover is beautifully illustrated and very tactile with a yellow, very glittery raised design. Spot the glittery ladybird on the pages of this wonderful rhyming tale. Young children can 'feel' as well as look for the ladybird which is cleverly much larger on some pages than others. The illustrations inside are great too. The story inside is very clever and very entertaining of how some farmyard ani...more
All the animals on the farm have plenty of sounds to make - except the ladybug. It isn't until she overhears two robbers plotting to steal the farmer's prize-winning cow that she finally has something to say!
This book is a bit of a tribute to all those creatures on earth who don't have a verse in "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," because they don't like to make a sound. I was charmed by the bouncing rhyme of the text and the fun mixed media illustrations. (Note the pile of poop the robbers step in!)
This book is a bit of a tribute to all those creatures on earth who don't have a verse in "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," because they don't like to make a sound. I was charmed by the bouncing rhyme of the text and the fun mixed media illustrations. (Note the pile of poop the robbers step in!)
Like any barnyard, this one is full of noise from all of its animals....all of them except the ladybug who never says a word. But just because the ladybug is quiet doesn't mean she can't see and hear! After overhearing two men's plan to steal the prize cow, she decides she better speak up and comes up with a plan of her own! With bright, energetic illustrations and smooth, rhyming text, this book is sure to please!
I think I love this book too because it has ladybugs in it:)
I think I love this book too because it has ladybugs in it:)
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Julia Donaldson has used colorful illustrations of animals in the farm. Additionally she has used rhyming couplets throughout the book, a poem like structure is adopted where a story is told. Basically, two men develop a cunning plan to steal the fine prize cow. The thieves have a simple map that will take them directly to the cow. However the ladybird proves to be a hero as she informs the farm animals of their cunning plan. As a result the animals unite and lay a trap for the thieves. They ado...more
My daughter (four years old) picked this up at the library, and we both love it! What a creative story with catchy rhyming to it. These farm animals are anything but passive as they carry out a ladybug's plan to save the prize cow. My family is on night eight of reading this book as one of our bedtime stories; we might just be taking a trip to the store to buy this one for keeps!
Identify rhyming words within the story -- create a rhyming dictionary
Different sounds animals make -- create a piece of writing
The ladybird whispered into each animal's ear. Think of other words that describe how we can communicate with others (e.g. shouted, screamed, hissed, chattered).
Write a character profile -- readers theater
Different sounds animals make -- create a piece of writing
The ladybird whispered into each animal's ear. Think of other words that describe how we can communicate with others (e.g. shouted, screamed, hissed, chattered).
Write a character profile -- readers theater
This book is so cute! Fun illustrations with a funny story. Adults laugh because we understand the "trick" and the little ones seem to enjoy all the animal sounds. My 2 year old LOVES this book. We borrowed it from the library and we've read it to him over a dozen times already. This is one I'd get for our home library.
I have read this book with my daughter over and over again. I bought it for her when she was 3 and we've enjoyed it together ever since. Excellent rhythm to the story, accompanied by bright colourful pictures and a very special 'glittery' ladybird. A must for any young family home.
Jun 25, 2012
Brittany Houston
added it
Reading "What the Ladybug Heard" to students provides them exposure to animal names and animal sounds. Also, students will be able to use oral and creative expression while reading the book because it requires interaction(ex. animal sounds). This book engages students in their learning.
This is one of my two year old daughter's favourite books. I read it to her almost every night. It's great fun and the repetition in it has been good for her language acquisition too. I think it would work well in an EFL classroom for younger learners.
Nominated for NYRA 2012, this story is about noisy farm animals being organized by a quiet ladybug in a plan to stop thieves. There is a mixture of "Click, clack, moo cows that type" atmosphere with "The very busy spider" and "The very quiet cricket".
This is just a fun story about how the silent ladybug breaks her silence to warn the farm animals of robbers coming. It has the sort of silly hyjinks that will delight preschoolars, with mixed up animal sounds, and colorful pictures.
I like the thieves' description of how they were going to get the cow (with a great map!), and the rhymes and the pictures were more fun than I had expected.
TG snagged this from the storytime lady's table one week.
TG snagged this from the storytime lady's table one week.
Adorable! Although if reading it aloud in North America, I think one would have to say "police car" instead of "panda car", because I don't think many kids here know what a panda car is!
So many friends have said that this has been a favourite book in their house. To be honest it hasn't stuck with us in quite the same way, but a witty rhyming tale nevertheless.
A funny story about two thiefs who want to steel the prize cow from a farm. The ladybug never said a word but she heard them and will instruct the other animals to distract them.
A cute little book for the young ones. Apart from the witty plot, children can also find and touch the little ladybird on every page. It's great fun reading it!
A ladybug overhears two thieves plotting to steal a cow, so she rounds up the animals and forms a plan to turn the tables on the thieves. Very fun to read aloud!
Jun 14, 2010
Nancy J.
added it
When there's a threat of intruders entering the farmyard, the ladybug has a great idea. Uses a map and animals have googely, beady little eyes in the illustrations.
My child absolutely loves this book. He had me read it to him every night after I bought it. I'm kind of sick of it but he loves the story and pictures.
Cute, cute, cute! Perfect read-aloud for a preschool story time with a farm theme because it's onomonpeotic and invites the listeners to participate.
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Growing up
I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).
Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Cho...more
More about Julia Donaldson...
I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).
Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Cho...more
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