ladybug girl and bumblebee boy

Book Review: The Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy

“The Princess and the Pauper” by Margret Wise Brown is the third in the “Pauper” series of children’s fantasy books. Preschool through grade 2; parents fall in love with Lulu (Ladybug Girl) because she and her best friend Sam (Bumblebee boy) use their imaginations to discover new adventure, fun, and above all, common ground. This book just got especially popular with girls and boys, and now, even with a follow-up, The Princess and the Pauper Pocalion has a whole new cast!

The story begins when Lulu gets kidnapped by an evil wizard. To get her back, she must travel through an enchanted jungle populated with fairies, unicorns, and vicious bugs. To combat this onslaught, Ladybug Girl creates her own magical fairy spell and fights her way through the forest until she finds herself face-to-face with Bumblebee Boy. The two become best friends and help each other rescue the others’ animals while battling evil and villains along the way. Throughout the book, they meet other colorful little characters along the way, including a dinosaur and a talking frog.

Unfortunately, not all is well in the fairytale world; not all of the unicorns are good, not all fairies are evil, and not all bugs are vicious. When the Ponies fail to save the world, Ladybug Girl realizes that she must become more powerful than she ever was in order to defeat the evil forces that threaten to destroy the world. She does this by taking on a new fairy godmother, a step that will change her life forever. In order to do this, she must work alongside three new friends: Bumblebee, Rascal, and Sparky.

These three boys are very different from each other but have one thing in common: they’re three adorable little girls who love to adventure. In fact, they’re exactly what you’d expect from a modern day novel, with the main character (Ladybug Girl, who happens to be the daughter of a superhero) traveling to strange places in order to seek out her destiny and to meet the people destined to save the planet. In a nutshell, these three lovable kids are the reason why I adored this story; they made me laugh so hard I had to stop myself from crying tears of joy.

What really makes this book great, though, is that despite its cute and whimsical story, it manages to bring a lot of serious ideas into the light as well. For example, unlike a lot of fairy tales, the entire premise is not just about a girl finding a prince or a handsome boy and making it happen in her life. It’s about the normal girls fighting against evil every single day; fighting against prejudice and against their own fears and insecurities. Because of this, the book not only stays afloat with hilarious and creative comedy, but also with some very tender and honest moments as well. One thing I really liked was that through all the crazy fighting and magical adventures, there’s one strong and consistent message that can be heard throughout the entire novel: everyone should live with self-esteem and not accept inferiority.

This isn’t to say that The Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy are perfect; not by any means! There are definitely flaws and imperfections, but these things only make the story stronger and more enjoyable. In the end, I found that the book’s message is a very relevant one – not only to young readers but even to older ones who’ve experienced all sorts of setbacks and travails in life. If you’ve ever felt lost or powerless or even if you’ve gone through the same trials and tribulations that these three girls have, I urge you to give The Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy a read!