Tail of the Week: Ladybug!
Our “Tail of the Week” has no tail – but plenty of “tales!”
The ladybug, called a “ladybird” in England, is believed to bring good luck in many cultures around the world, especially in England, France, and Germany – where the luck comes in the form of good crops for farmers – as well as in Sweden and Scotland, where it is believed that a ladybug in your hand will make you lucky in love. In Italy and China, a ladybug in the home brings good luck.
The library has information books about ladybugs, and some favorite stories that brought good fortune to their creators: The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle is popular with toddlers and preschoolers, and the picture book series about Ladybug Girl by David Soman and Jacky Davis is lucky for children who like superhero stories.
Make a ladybug finger puppet or ring and have some lucky adventures of your own! You might want to write your own puppet show script and tell the story of the smart little ladybug who hid under the frying pan in the nursery rhyme that follows the directions below.
A limited number of kits to make this finger puppet are available at the Main Library, but you can use materials at home to make it, too.
Ladybug Finger Puppet
- Two red paper circles
- One black paper circle
- One smaller black paper circle
- One black paper strip
- One black paper rectangle
- One white paper rectangle
- Glue stick
- Black marker or crayon
- Optonal: Craft stick or straw
1. Fold the two red circles in half for the ladybug wings.
2. Glue the small black circle on one edge of the larger one for the body.
3. Glue red folded bug wings on either side of the large black circle so that the wings open on the outside and color dark dots onto wings.
4. Cut out two small circles and color black dots on them for eyes.
5. Glue the eyes onto the head.
6. Fold the black paper rectangle in half and cut on the fold to make the antennae, then glue onto the top of the head from the back. TIP: Curl the antennae around a pencil before gluing to the head.
7. Take the black paper strip to make a ring and glue the ends together.
8. Glue the ring to the back of bug’s body. Or, if you prefer, tape the ladybug to a craft stick or straw and use as a stick puppet (or even a magic wand!) Enjoy your puppet!
Ladybug Nursery Rhyme
Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home,
Your house is on fire, your children are gone,
All except one and her name is Ann
For she hid under the frying pan!
