The Bad-Tempered Ladybird

Cut-away pages show the path of the sun at hourly intervals from rising to setting and the progress of the grouchy ladybird as it issues the challenge, 'Hey you... want to fight?' to a series of ever larger animals, both the pages and the print increasing in proportion to the proposed opponent. But the ladybird finally gets its come uppance when it takes on the whale who, with a flick of his tail, propels it back to the starting point thirteen hours later. In my view nothing Carle has done matches up to The Very Hungry Caterpillar but this book assuredly does appeal to the belligerent side of many young children.