Friends of Montclair Library

Ladybug Season photo by Sharon Mollerus via Flickr / Creative Commons.

Pretty much everybody loves ladybugs, with their jaunty polka dots and aphid-eating superpowers. Here are nine books about ladybugs available at the Montclair branch, perfect for spring reading.

Bonus for fans of the “Ladybug Girl” books: Bay Area Children’s Theatre is currently presenting “Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy, the Musical” in Berkeley. BAC’s all ages shows, based on popular children’s books, are a great way to introduce kids to live theatre.

By the way, if you’re a ladybug fan in Oakland and haven’t yet checked out the ladybug swarms overwintering in Redwood Regional Park, put it on your calendar for next year. Between November and February, thousands of ladybugs converge on the intersection of the Prince and Stream trails, snuggling up in big clumps to keep warm. It’s a nice hike and an amazing sight. Photos and details: A Nature Mom | Frog Mom

Picture books:
What the Ladybug Heard by Julia Donaldson

The Very Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

Ladybug Girl by David Soman & Jacky Davis

Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas

Little Buggy by Kevin O’Malley (“A young ladybug is determined to learn how to fly and, with the help of his father, he succeeds.”)

Caterpillar’s Wish by Mary Murphy (“Caterpillar wants to fly away with her friends Bee and Ladybug, and she can after she becomes a butterfly.”)

Non-Fiction
Are You a Ladybug? by Judy Allen (J 595.769 ALLEN)

Ladybugs by Gail Gibbons (J 595.769 GIBBONS)

Chapter Book
Violet Mackerel’s Natural Habitat by Anna Branford (J FIC BRANFORD, ages 6-10)
“As the youngest in her family, seven-year-old Violet identifies with small creatures in the natural world, but when she tries to help a special ladybug, she learns an important lesson about animal habitats.”