Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug!

PreS—In this seek-and-find picture book, a cheerful ladybug hides in a series of places familiar to young children: a bathtub full of toys, a playroom, a cluttered staircase. Energetic rhyming verses introduce each scene and invite preschoolers to find the beetle. The following page shows a close-up of where it is hiding. The book makes excellent use of white backgrounds to direct attention and provide breathing space. Ljungkvist's digital illustrations are colorful and interesting, but not too busy. They promote comfort and confidence by repeating objects, such as a robot and blocks that spell out "ladybug" in different configurations.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD

Effervescent graphics and an engrossing hide-and-seek game make this a diverting book to share. "Yoo-hoo, Ladybug! Where are you?" calls a voice at the start of a series of puzzles. "There you are..." the voice continues, directing readers to full-page collages cluttered with cartoon toys, animals, and objects--from letter blocks and dice to an abstract brown squirrel and giraffe. Amid this array of colors, patterns, and shapes, acute observers may the beetle's red, black-spotted rear end. A page turn reveals a circular close-up, zooming in on Ladybug, who peeks from her hiding place to smile at readers ("tucked in a box/ with Rabbit and Fox"). Fox's (Tell Me About Your Day Today) repetitive phrases appear on Easter egg-hued pages opposite Ljungkvist's cacophonous digital art and punchy palette, whose playroom messiness couldn't be farther from her compulsively tidy Follow the Line and its sequels. Recurring visual motifs come together in a full-spread finale, including a patterned floor, pink-striped wallpaper, photographs of toy-size Volvos, Beetles, and Mini Coopers, and (of course) one Ladybug. Young children will enjoy mastering this visual game. Ages 2-5. (May)