Love Bug? Hugs and Kisses for the Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

The Ladybug is grouchy. And when Ladybug is out of sorts, nobody is smiling!

Maybe a smile can turn a frown upside down, but it's not working with this very Grouchy Ladybug.

A little embrace can make a crocodile smile. A little smooch will make a seal flap his flippers.

A little hug can help a mama kangaroo and her joey jump with joy, a giraffe stretch tall, or get a donkey kicking up his hind hooves!

And just little kiss will inspire a peacock to ...

... STRUT HIS STUFF.

So can some hugs and kisses coax a smile out of that grouchy ladybug?

Favorite author-illustrator Eric Carle has crafted a nifty new picture book for the Valentine season, his just-published Hugs and Kisses for the Grouchy Ladybug (Harper Collins, 2018), in which he proves that a little love goes a long way. Carle's signature tissue-collaged artwork is iconic and instantly recognizable, especially for youngsters who already know his classics, The Grouchy Ladybug and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Pair this one with Carle's other loving and lovely Love from The Very Hungry Caterpillar (The World of Eric Carle) (see review here).

What Spots? Lucy Ladybug by Sharon King Chai

LUCY LADYBUG DIDN'T FEEL SHE BELONGED ANYWHERE.

"YOU CAN'T BE ONE OF US," CRIED THE OTHER LADYBUGS. "YOU HAVE NO SPOTS."

They're right! She doesn't! Lucy flies away, all alone.

Soon she sees Fred Frog and admires his beautiful green spots.

"YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL, TOO," SAYS FRED. "HAVE ONE OF MINE!"

With one green spot, Lucy flies away, feeling better.

Then in the fall she sees Carla Caterpillar and admires her lovely golden spots, and Carla returns the compliment and contributes a gold spot for Lucy's carapace. Lucy loves her twin spots.

But that winter Lucy spots Felicity Fish, leaping from the icy lake and showing off her sparkling blue spots. She cooperates in donating one dazzling blue dot to Lucy's collection.

And when spring has sprung, Lucy can't help but comment on Bella Bird's breast, decorated by dazzling white speckles. Bella obliges by offering Lucy a sample spot!

LUCY LADYBUG WAS SO HAPPY! FOUR SPOTS!

Proudly Lucy spreads her wings and proudly gets ready to come in for a landing at opening day to show off her big bright beautifully colored spots! But... Wait! All the other ladybugs have black spots. Is she still the odd ladybug out?

But in Sharon King Chai's Lucy Ladybug (Random House, 2016), the author-illustrator saves the best for last, a big, bold and bright four-page gatefold in which Lucy Ladybug proudly proclaims...

BEING DIFFERENT IS ACTUALLY ... A GOOD THING!

In a super-sweet story of the virtue of being unique, Chai manages to work in mini-lessons in color recognition, numbers, and the cycle of the seasons, all within an easy-going little parable that salutes individuality along with the value of getting by with a little help from your friends.