Ladybugs: Red, Fiery, and Bright

by Mia Posada

Enter the magical realm of ladybugs to see how they grow into bright flying beetles with vivid red coats and shiny black spots. From Mia Posada, the author/illustrator of the acclaimed Dandelions, comes another delightful look at nature. Uncover the tiny world of the ladybug through vivid illustrations and words, along with a special section featuring fun ladybug facts.

Genres: Science, Animals, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, Nature, School

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2002

About the author

Mia Posada grew up in Minneapolis, then studied art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduating, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where she lived until 2007 when she moved back to Minneapolis with her husband and children. Mia has written and illustrated five books: Dandelions: Stars in the Grass, Ladybugs: Red, Fiery and Bright, Robins: Songbirds of Spring, Guess What is Growing Inside This Egg, and Who Was Here?: Discovering Wild Animal Tracks. She also illustrated Dazzling Dragonflies by Linda Glaser.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture-book naturalist Mia Posada turns to one of the world's most beloved insects in this engaging title, exploring the life cycle of the ladybug (sometimes also known as a ladybird). In rhyming text, she explores the ladybug's appearance, and its various stages of development, from egg to larvae to pupa to full-fledged beetle. An afterword gives more detailed information about ladybugs...

First published in 2002, Ladybugs: Red, Fiery, and Bright was Posada's second book, and the eighth of her titles that I have read. I found it engaging, but don't think it is quite as strong as some of her later books - titles like Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg and Who Was Here?: Discovering Wild Animal Tracks . The rhyme scheme sometimes felt a little awkward, and although I found the artwork lovely overall, I thought the depiction of the flora and fauna was more convincing than the solitary human figure - a young girl with a ladybug on her arm. Despite these small critiques, overall I would recommend this one. It makes for an entertaining and informative introduction to the basic biology of the ladybug for younger children.

[Alexis Caudill · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Book summary, in your own words (3 pts)
Ladybugs: Red, Fiery, and Bright is an awesome book on the lifecycle of a ladybug. I honestly had no clue what the lifecycle of a ladybug was like until I read this book, my life has been changed. I now feel like I have learned something exciting and new and really want to share it. The illustrations in this book were great too.
2. Grade level, interest level, lexile (1 pt)
This is a book for students in Preschool through 3rd grade. It is extremely interesting and very easy to read.
3. Appropriate classroom use (subject area) (1 pt)
I would use this book during the reading part of the class or when we would learn about insects (since this book is for younger students).
4. Individual students who might benefit from reading (1 pt)
Students interested in insects would love this book.
5. Small group use (literature circles) (1 pt)
If I used this in small groups, I would have the students make their own illustrations for the lifecycle of a ladybug.
6. Whole class use (read aloud) (1 pt)
I think it would be fun to read this book aloud to the class. I think the students would react to it really well.
7. Related books in genre/subject or content area (1 pt)
National Geographic Readers: Caterpillar to Butterfly by Laura Marsh
National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant by Kristin Baird Rattini
From Tadpole to Frog (Start to Finish, Second (Paperback)) by Shannon Zemlicka
8. Multimedia connections (audio books, movie) available (1 pt)
There are no multimedia connections to this book.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Ladybugs: Red, Fiery, and Bright”, written by Mia Posada, is a non-fiction book that tells about the life cycle of a ladybug. The book starts out by telling the reader some facts about ladybugs, such as describing what ladybugs look like, describing what ladybugs eat, and telling the reader that ladybugs will not cause you harm. After this, the majority of the book discusses a ladybug’s life cycle, starting as an egg, becoming larvae, growing into a pupa, then turning into an adult. Posada includes lots of visual descriptions throughout the stages, as well as includes illustrations that clearly show what stage the ladybug is in. After all of the stages are described, there are a few more facts about adult ladybugs. On the remaining three pages of the book, there is a section labeled “More about Ladybugs”. In this section, there is a lot of information about ladybugs that is a lot more in depth than the rest of the book. There are no characters in this book because it is nonfiction. There is simply only a narrator and the subject of ladybugs. The text structure is pretty simple, but the words are not always in straight lines, which adds to the fun, bright colors and excitement for learning about ladybugs. I really liked the information this book gave in a child-friendly manner and I loved how there was additional information in the back of the book. I would use this book for science in a first grade classroom to introduce the concept of life cycles. I would also ask students what other life cycles they have heard about, or would be interested in learning more about.

[Morgan Pyles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect for k-3rd grade. The illustrations are bright and colorful and the information is worded to meet the level of comprehension for this age. The book talks about all the stages of life for a lady bug as well as how they taste to bird that might eat them. It also introduces terms like "aphids", "larvae" and "pupa".

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the art

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and informative!

[Dana Burnett]

1. Ladybugs: Red, Fiery, and Bright by Mia Posada discusses the life cycle of a lady bug. The ladybug lays eggs in the shade, the yellow eggs turn white, and then the eggs hatch causing the larvae to climb out of the egg. Then the larvae goes through molting, which means they are going to shed their own skin. When the ladybug larva is almost full grown, it attaches to a plant or stone and when it emerges, a pupa is formed. The pupa's shell cracks and a spotless yellow beetle crawls out and shortly afterward turns red and grows wings. Finally the ladybug is able to fly and is full grown.

2. I truly enjoyed and learned so much from this informational picture book. Before reading this book, I never knew anything about the life cycle of a ladybug. I think that this is a wonderful subject to teach young children about because this book provides a lot of information in a way that young children can understand through the beautiful and bright illustrations.

3. Some books that I will read with this informational text includes The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle, Are You a Ladybug by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries, and Starting Life Ladybug by Claire Llewellyn and Simon Mendez. These books can be compared to Ladybugs: Red, Fiery, and Bright because all of these selections discuss facts about ladybugs. The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle can be used to compare the difference between books that are fiction and non-fiction.

4. "Little round beetles with red coats and black spots crawl through gardens and trees and on flowers in pots. They are ladybugs!"- Mia Posada

This book can be used as a mentor text to show children how to write factual information in an engaging and interesting way like Mia Posada did throughout Ladybugs: Red, Fiery, and Bright. It provides an example to children, which they can use when writing there own informational, non-fiction piece.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ladybugs, Posada, M., Grade: Kindergarten - 2nd, Topic: A unit on insects and their life cycles.

Ladybugs are so important - they eat bugs that eat our plants. Some people consider it good luck if a lady bug lands on you.
Science vocabulary words such as "molting" "larva" "pupa" are useful in identifying stages in other insect life cycles.
Students can go outside and observe ladybugs in the school garden or lawn. They can observe them at home in their own yard or nearby park.
Students can draw the life cycles on a graphic organizer to show what they have learned.
Using the picture in the back of the book as a guide, the students can label the parts of a ladybug.

A fun book to read as a part of this unit would be "The Grouchy Ladybug" by Eric Carle. Use the sock hand puppets to retell the story. Have the students make their own lady bug puppets.

[Becky Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This informational picture book is a great way to learn all about ladybugs. The book follows a rhyming pattern which makes the facts presented in the book easy and memorable. The book also gives correct vocabulary when referring to the ladybugs. For example, instead of saying the ladybug babies have hatched, the author notes they are called larvae. Also, the author presents us with a page of facts at the end to learn even more about these creatures. As for the illustrations, the ladybug pops out of the pictures to capture the readers attention. The watercolor images are used to depict the insect. The microscopic viewpoints bring us into the world of the ladybug and spark immediate interest.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A colorful picture book about the life of ladybugs. Additional information at the end of the book tells about the alternate name of ladybird, usefulness of ladybugs to farmers, and the great diversity within the ladybug family of Coccinellidae. There's also a nice labeled diagram of a ladybug at the back pointing out it's thorax, antenna, elytra, etc.

The illustrations and step-by-step life cycle of the ladybug is done exceptionally well. The only drawback to this book is that the text tries to rhyme but doesn't always do so well.

Still a great resource for those studying arthropods, insects, life cycles, or symbiotic relationships.

[Whitney Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides lots of information about lady bugs. It describes the lady's life cycle, where it lives, what it eats, and much more. It also talks about the make up of the ladybug and shows a labeled diagram of its different parts. At the end there is a section that provides even more in dept information about the lady bug.

I thought this was a cute book. It had really colorful pictures that I think would engaged young readers, and provided lots of text features like labels, captions, and graphics. I think this would be a good nonfiction book to provide in my classroom of younger, lower level children.

[Nell Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well illustrated book taking the reader through the process of becoming a ladybug. It goes into great detail but keeps it simple enough so that children can certainly understand it. This book has great color and the text and pictures flow well together. This book would be great for when a teacher is teaching the class about insects outside or how the environment helps different animals survive. At the end of the book, after the story is told, there are a few pages of details about different kinds of ladybugs just to inform the reader even more if they wish to learn more.

[Kellee Hao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grade: Kindergarten
Have you ever wondered how ladybugs came about? I didn't even realize a ladybug's life cycle is similar to a butterfly and a bee. I have always thought it was born the way it is. Ladybugs are very friendly animals, and children encounter ladybugs all the time. They know that they're friendly but they aren't too informed on the way it was form. This is a great book to have children research more into life cycles.

[Oana Cerchezan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fun rhyming book describes the life stages of a ladybug.It is a great informative book for first grade children. This book can be used to create fun activities that teach children the importance of sequencing.For example children can design each life stage of a lady bug using materials or they can retell the stages using props.

[Chanelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ladybugs is a great book to teach about life cycles. The book shows what the ladybugs eat, what kinds of animals can harm them, and how they lay eggs. It goes through the entire life cycle of a ladybug. At the end of the book, it shows all of the different types of ladybugs and it shows a diagram of the different parts of a ladybug.

[Lorraine Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great read aloud. It can be used as away to explore facts about ladybugs through a story. It has facts about the life of ladybugs and has lots of vocabulary focused around insects. In the back of the book it further explains facts about ladybugs with labeled parts. Easy to read once terms have been defined.

[Jessica Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This easy to follow book tells about the life cycles of Ladybugs. The wonderful bright colored pictures of the book are great for the childs eyes to follow along with and the rhyming on each page is sure to keep every childs attention while learning all about the little creatures called Ladybugs. Very cute story.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book about ladybugs! It has fun illustrations, and it tells all about them using a rhyming narrative. All science should be this fun! A brief section in the back expands on the information provided and is very informative.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book to read for science lesson on lady bugs and how eggs and larvae become lady bugs. This book is also filled with rhyming words so you can cover two subjects with this book. This is a very detailed and yet simple enough for young readers to enjoy!

[Candace Carr]

This book is great to read to students when learning about different animals. With this book students are focusing on ladybugs and learning what they do and the parts. You could use this book to teach the class about the lady and give them facts.

[Rebecca Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book to keep in my library for the students who love bugs. It also is a good book to teach the students about scientific poetry. They could take what they are learning in science and creat their own poems!

[Molly Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is perfect for incorporating science into your lesson. It gives tons of information about the physical features of a ladybug, what they eat, and how they live. There are many descriptive words throughout and it is great to have the children work on recognizing rhyming words.

[Natalie Heavrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very educational book. I learned a lot of things about ladybugs that I ahd never heard before! The rhymes in the book help it to flow and keep the reader's attention. The only thing I didn't like was that some of the illustrations were a little graphic.

[Debra McEathron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was checking this book out because I thought it might be a low level AR book. I was surprised to learn it was a level 4.1! So I read it!! It is an awesome book that explains the life cycle of a ladybug in a fun and entertaining way. a great book to read to children about ladybugs.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great factual book about ladybugs, but set in a cute rhyme to keep it interesting for the littles.

[Suzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really interesting - nice pictures, cool information about ladybugs, and it Rhymes! Another good book for Nathan at 3.5 years old.

[Erika Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this difficult to read aloud, as when there's rhyme I look for an easy meter, but my son adored it. He's two and on a huge ladybug kick. His vocabulary now includes "Larva!" and "Pupa!"

[Sarah]

Description Sample

[Ladonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Explains what a ladybug does and the life of the ladybug. The end has more facts about them.