The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

Title: The Grouchy Ladybug

Author: Eric Carle

Copyright: 1977, Scholastics INC., New York.
Grade Level: younger elementary
Genre: Fiction

Theme: Sharing , Friendship, Feelings

Summary: The book is about two ladybugs, a friendly one and a mean one. They both see aphids, which are insects that ladybugs eat, and they both want them. The friendly ladybug decides that they can share them, but the mean ladybug says No Way! In the end, the ladybugs decide that they will fight for the aphids and the grouchy ladybug says that the friendly ladybug is not big enough to fight. So the grouchy ladybug flies away and throughout the night, the grouchy ladybug meets with eleven other animals, much larger than itself, and asks them to fight. Whenever each animal decides to fight, the grouchy ladybug decides they're not big enough to fight and flies away to another animal to ask the same question. In the end, the grouchy ladybug comes across a whale, who slaps the grouchy ladybug with its tail and makes it fly across sea and land back to where it started from. The friendly ladybug is still there waiting for the grumpy ladybug and offers it food to share. They share the food.

Pre-Reading Activity:Since time is one thing introduced in this story, students can make their own ladybug clock and practice teling time on it. Teacher can talk about the meaning of P.M. and A.M. and teach the students how to tell time.

Post-Reading Activity:Share feelings in a large group. Talk abotu the things that make you grouchy and things that make you happy.

Reflection:

This book is wonderful to use with younger elementary students when learning and talking about feelings. Although I liked the book a lot, I wasn't too happy with the ending. I didn't quite understand the ending at first, because it didn't really make sense, but I think I understand it a little better now, agter reading it over and over again. Still, this book is very fun to read, and when I read it to a preschool class they enjoyed listening to it very much. This book could also be used when introducing Time to your students. Since Time is introduced throughout the book, it's important to show that to the students and also talk about the time changes in the book.

* The book also offers a small paragraph about Aphids and what they are. Also, it explains that ladybugs eat these small insects, called Aphids. The book is dedicated to the ladybugs.

About the Author:

Eric Carle is an amazing illustrator for many children's books. I never realized this but one of the books he has illustrated was The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which is an amazing children's book with beautiful illustrations. That book has been translated into 45 different languages and it sold over 30 million copies. His work is very recognizable and distinctive.

Eric Carle was born in Syracuse, New York in 1929. He moved to Germany with his parents when he was six years old. He was educated in Germany and he graduated from an art school. His dream was to return to America, so in 1952, he packed his things and went back to New York. He has two grown-up children, a son and a daughter, with his wife Barbara.

 

“With many of my books I attempt to bridge the gap between the home and school. To me home represents, or should represent; warmth, security, toys, holding hands, being held. School is a strange and new place for a child. Will it be a happy place? There are new people, a teacher, classmates—will they be friendly?”



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