Ladybugs

K-Gr 3—This well-conceived introduction is one of Gibbons's most attractive and informative presentations to date. Her colorful, realistically painted watercolors, enhanced with black ink outline and detail and some crayon highlighting, fill every page with larger-than-life images, and they are as much a source of information as the fact-filled text. Half of the illustrations include one or more brief notes and/or labels in addition to the oversize text. Gibbons identifies the small beetle's body parts; shows some species of ladybugs from around the world; details the four stages of its life cycle; and discusses its usefulness to farmers and how it protects itself from predators and cold weather. Appended are some additional facts (e.g., "Ladybugs can swim") and the National Geographic websites for the U.S. and Canada. The book contains more report-worthy information for this age group than most other in-print titles. This simply written, clearly organized, thoroughly researched and exceptionally illustrated volume should be a first purchase for most libraries.—Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Heights Public Library, OH