Laila the Ladybug

Sometimes it is really fun to be a little different. That is what Laila discovers in 'Laila the Ladybug' by Bas Kleinhout. Bas Kleinhout is a designer, art director and illustrator, and 'Laila the Ladybug' is his debut. It is not only funny and heartwarming, but also has a beautiful message about creativity and being allowed to be who you are. Even if that is something different every day. With simple shapes in earthy colours and bright red, he manages to create an incredibly expressive character. Little Laila learns a lot about herself and as a reader you will immediately take her to your heart. When you think of ladybugs, you think of dots. Sometimes a lot, sometimes only two, but they always have them. Laila is not like the other ladybugs: she does not have a single dot. She thinks that she will only feel like a real ladybug if she has dots, so she draws them on her shell with berry juice. But those dots disappear with the rain. All her hard work is gone and Laila gives up, until she meets a dung beetle. With every movement, the color of its shell changes: purple, green, blue... It is never exactly the same. That gives Laila an idea. Who says she always has to make the same dots with that berry juice?