Ryers Readers - Ladybug Girl

Episode Date: March 29, 2023

Ladybug girl makes her own fun, after a morning full of adventures…she knows she is definitely not too little!

Let's do this! Thank you so much for tuning into today's story. Don't forget to rate and follow so you never miss out on all the ryer's readers fun. Before we get into the story, do you want to know a fun fact? Did you know that ladybugs are not actually bugs? Bugs tend to have long straw-like mouths and have a mostly liquid diet. Beetles can chew and eat plants and grass. So since ladybugs can chew, they are considered part of the beetle family. Pretty cool, huh? Okay, story time!

Today, we have a super special Ryers Readers' Readers' request from Kendall in Iowa, USA. Kendall requested to hear Ladybug Girl by David Soman and Jackie Dee. I hope you enjoy this story, Kendall. Let's do this. A girl, says Lulu zipping into the kitchen. She slips into the chair next to her brother. Did you know that ladybugs eat bugs? Yes, he says. Everyone knows that. After breakfast, Mama says,

Papa and I have to work around the house. You'll have to figure out your own fun time, okay? How am I ever going? ever going to do that, asks Lulu. You could do anything, Lulu. You're a ladybug girl. Lulu runs after her brother. Where are you going?

I'm playing baseball with Sam and Max. Can I play two? She asks. No, you're too little, he snorts. And bugs don't play baseball. With a sigh, Lulu wanders through the house. Bingo follows. There's nothing to do.

In the living room, there's a wall of books. Lulu can't read yet, but she knows her letters. She finds a lot of L's. More than 59, she thinks. Then she waters her avocado plant. She takes out her ruler to measure if it's grown. Some days, it just doesn't seem to be getting any bigger. When Bingo gives Lulu the look, it's time to go outside.

In the backyard, the grass smells sweet and is sparkling with dew. While Bingo snuffles about, Lulu discovers a line of ants marching over a rock. Is that rock in your way, ants? It's much too big for you to move, isn't it? she says. I can help you. I'm Ladybug Girl. Ladybug girl easily lifts the rock over her head and tosses it aside. Nothing can stop the ants now. Come on, bingo, she says.

Ladybug girl has things to do. She runs across the yard to the pond. Her brother calls it a puddle, but she knows it's big. So big she can see trees and sky inside of the water. There might even be a shark in the deep part. Ladybug girl jumps in anyway. Her next stop is the old crumbly stone wall. It definitely needs her help.

She picks up the fallen rocks and puts them back on top. Now the wall is bigger and better than before. It's the perfect fort! Even the toppled over tree in the back of the yard can't stop her. Its roots look like angry snakes, But Ladybug girl skips all the way down its trunk, not falling even once. She jumps down and lands with a bow. Tadda! she says, bingo wags his tail.

All of a sudden, Lulu hears the crack of a baseball bat. She whirls around and sees a ball bouncing towards her. Hey! Her brother yells, throw it a little. over here. She picks up the ball and throws it, but somehow it lands near her feet. Please, can I play with you now? She asks when her brother runs over. He says, I already told you, you're too little. He grabs the ball and runs back to his game. Lulu glares after him. Lulu lies down, feeling the warm sun on her cheeks.

She knows she isn't too little. She thinks of the 59 letter L's she found and how she saved the ants. She wasn't afraid of the shark at all. She built the perfect fort. And she balanced across the whole tree without falling, all by herself. From out of nowhere, a gust of wind sore. the air with leaves. She jumps up to chase them. Ladybug girl can catch leaves in mid-air. Ladybug girl is d- She yells into the wind. Lulu runs up the hill to the apple tree and lifts herself onto a branch.

She can see her brother and his friends playing baseball and hears them arguing. It doesn't really look like they're having much fun after all. Not the kind of fun ladybug girl has. She holds up her thumb and index finger a bit apart and squints through them. She can fit her brother and all of his friends between those two fingers. I'm not little, she says. You're little. Lulu sits for a moment listening to the singing sparrows and the squawking blue jays.

When she hears mama calling, she swings down and says, Come on, bingo. Let's go inside and tell Mama and Papa about our morning. Feeling as big as the whole outdoors, Lulu stretches out her arms, and she flies down the hill with her wings bobbing behind her. The end. Don't forget to stick around to see if you can answer today's paying attention question. Before you go, do you think you can answer today's today's?

is paying attention question? What game were Lulu's brother and his friends playing? If your answer was baseball, you did it. Great job! You sure were paying attention. I hope you enjoyed that story.

I wonder what we're going to read next. Bye, Kendall. I'm Kendall from Iowa. Can you please? Can you please read Lady Book Girl?