Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Hillary and the Ladybug Butterflies) through Ascot Media Group. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 
Hillary is back! This time in a full-length storybook! Follow Hillary and Tiny Tim as they go on an adventure. Will they run into trouble? Who are these Ladybug Butterflies? Are they dangerous and if so why? What will happen on the risky journey they must undergo.
Basic Details
You may recall my reviews of Hillary the Little Ladybug and Fly Patrol. I thought I would see what a larger book would look like and so today we’re looking at Hillary and the Ladybug Butterflies. This book is 146 pages and was published by Jongleur Books. Once again you’ll find images with characters laid over them. Lots of white space make this a spacious 6 chapter read. William Dandurand is the photographer and Illustrator. Authorship is shared between Mary Cohen, and William Danderuand, along with Elisabeth and Gary Revel.
Looking Deeper into Hillary and the Ladybug Butterflies
Chapter headings are simple. I like how straightforward it all is. As you can see there is a lot of white space provided. I tend to think this book would be less bulky if some of this white space was removed. As I’ve thought about it, I can see children being able to add their own pictures to the book. Don’t you think this would add depth and fun? 🙂
I can’t say I’m crazy about the font. Seems understated for the showiness of butterflies and ladybugs. It is also a bit small for reading with a group of children and holding it up for them to see the pictures. Yet, this no-nonsense script is very easy to read.
I can’t say I’m crazy about the way the images were done. Cartoons over photos. It’s an interesting method don’t you think? Almost all of these full-colour images are done in a mixed-media format.
Some photos do stand on their own, kudos to photographer William Dandurand for how lovely they are.
The bold, bright cartoons stand out and show basic expressions like happy, sad, surprised, etc.
Most good stories have a good side and a bad side. The ladybug butterflies showed their bad side by imprisoning the ladybugs who searched them out. But she was protecting her own people, and especially their children by doing so. Was she really being bad though? That’s a question I would ask if reading the story to a group of children.
It’s great to have books to help you ask questions, even if you don’t always have the answers.
Should you read it?
I actually like Hillary and the Ladybug Butterflies much more than I did the first two in the series. I still don’t like all the wasted space. This book could be much less bulky if the text and images were placed on the same page. I didn’t notice any odd pausing in the sentences this time either. Reads much more naturally, as a reader should read.
I think children will enjoy this read. Kindergarten through grade 2 I think. A bit of a mystery, brave adventurers, and a great solution at the end! What more can you want eh?
What strange pictures/images. Not something I would enjoy over 150 pages of, for sure.
The story was better than in the first two, but the images are odd….