Product Description

With all the MOOing and HISSing, QUACKing and NEIGHing, and BAAAing and CLUCKing, the farmyard is full of noise. But when Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len hatch a plot to steal the fine prize cow, it’s the quietest animal of all who saves the day!

A marvellous new rhyming tale from the creators of the best-selling THE PRINCESS AND THE WIZARD and SHARING A SHELL.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1692 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

About the Author

Julia Donaldson is the UK's most successful picture book author, whose titles include the acknowledged modern classic, THE GRUFFALO (978-0-333-71093-7), illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Julia is also the author of the young fiction series, PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE, illustrated by Lydia Monks, and is much in demand for her brilliant events for children at schools, libraries and literary festivals.

Lydia Monks is one of the most original picture book artists working today. Her distinctive use of colour and collage has won her awards including the Smarties Prize.

Customer Reviews

A quiet ladybird
saves the day!

From the back cover:-

'Two crafty robbers, one tiny ladybird, and a whole farmyard of fun!
Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len have a cunning plan to steal the farmer's fine prize cow.
But they reckon without the tiniest, quietest creature of all: she has a plan of her own.

A wonderfully funny rhyming tale from Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks - the best selling creators of 'Sharing a Shell' and 'The Princess and the Wizard'......'

Measuring 10" square, this is sure to be a popular book, with oodles of appeal, and the glittery ladybird to find on every page!
Eye-catching front cover, with a glittery feel, opens to 24 highly coloured quality pages in the ever-popular double page spread format.
In addition the inside cover pages are two-page spreads of the farmyard, before and after the cunning plan!
These are truly excellent pieces of artwork which promote all sorts of discussions and drawings as extension work!

Clear text is enhanced in places FOR EFFECT!
A repeat element helps word recognition, and encourages joining in.....if you can stop those little eyes checking out where the tiny, quiet little ladybird is hiding, as you turn the page!

Example of text:-

'Once upon a farm lived a fat red hen,
A duck in a pond and a goose in a pen,
A woolly sheep, a hairy hog
A handsome horse and a dainty dog,
A cat that miaowed and a cat that purred,

A fine prize cow.....and a ladybird.....'

The next two pages have all the aforementioned animals introducing themselves, and their various noises, i.e. a MOO, or a HISS etc, ..........but `the ladybird never said a word'....
at this point, anyway!
She is too busy listening to the robbers' plan which she tells the rest of the animals about....
...one by one...
....in their ear......
....with a glittery trail, further enhancing these two pages!

The animals respond in their various `voices', as before....
.....but the ladybird's plan to foil the robbers is rather cunning in its own right.......
and as night falls....the animals finally save the day, in their own devious way!

My only minor criticism is that I needed a fair bit of practice to recite out loud some of the couplets, especially as the story develops... but that is an adult challenge...and the children in my groups didn't seem to notice - so four and a half stars overall!

Wonderful...
My son and I read this beautifully illustrated book this evening for the first time. And the second. And then the third...He LOVED it and so did I! The main thrill for him was finding the glittery ladybird on every page but I know that eventually, he'll pick up the narrative and be singing along with me! We'll be a little out of tune, perhaps, but very entertained. Perfect...

Exceptionally Good Book 10 stars!
This book is excellent in every way. The cover is beautifully illustrated and very tactile with a yellow, very glittery raised design. This raised glittery theme is continued through the book with a hidden ladybird and sometimes her trail on each page. Young children can 'feel' as well as look for the ladybird which is cleverly much larger on some pages than others. The illustrations inside are outstanding too.
The story inside is very clever and very entertaining of how some farmyard animals plus the ladybird outwit some thieves trying to steal the farmers prized cow.
It is a very, very entertaining tale and lots of opportunity to make animal noises and laugh at the story.
Exceptionally good and well worth adding to your young childrens book collection. I would say it's suited to preschool and key stage one children. My 7 and 4 year old loved it.
Wholeheartedly recommended.