I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him). The thieves ‘crept’ into the farm. Think of synonyms which describe how people can move. Can you demonstrate each one (e.g. sprint, crawled, paced).

What The Ladybird Heard - Teaching Ideas What The Ladybird Heard - Teaching Ideas

One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did. This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading.

This was one of the stories included in my show, “Gruffalos, Ladybirds and Other Beasts” which we performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015. Here we are in rehearsal – Malcolm is Lanky Len on the left. Can you make up a song which includes lots of examples of animal sounds? Get some ideas by watching this performance of a song by the author and her husband: Fantastic book for babies, toddlers and preschoolers as there are the sounds, voices of the characters, and use of loud and soft tones the parent can make, there is the touch element with the ladybird and "spot the ladybird" problem solving. The rhythms are great too. my little girl loves this book. we read it nearly every night before bed - she likes to join in with reading the story. her favourite line is "be carefull not to wake the dog". I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs.

What the Ladybird Heard Activity Pack - Scottish Book Trust What the Ladybird Heard Activity Pack - Scottish Book Trust

Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len have a cunning they'll sneak past all the animals and steal the farmer's fine prize cow. But they forget all about the tiniest, quietest creature on the farm―the ladybug. She has a plan of her own. What the Ladybird Heard is a repetitive story with rhyming words and alteration which encourage children to join in. This is a really fun and engaging KS1 book. This cane looked at in many different areas of the Literacy curriculum. When looking at fiction stories there is a nice link to baddies and heroes, and in this case the hero is small and clever as opposed to big and strong. The fact that the main hero of this story is a small little ladybird that never speaks it really lovely. To me it sends the message that even if you are quiet or shy, you can still save the day and be important. I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.My daughter loves this book it comes everywhere with us at the moment. She is asking everyone to read it to her even the bank clerk we saw the other day?! Think about the different sounds that animals make. How do we write these (e.g. miaow, purr)? Can you think of any other examples of onomatopoeia? Are there any other examples in the story?

What the Ladybird Heard Series by Julia Donaldson - Goodreads What the Ladybird Heard Series by Julia Donaldson - Goodreads

The story is about a ladybird coming up with a plan to save the farm. The illustrations of the ladybird telling the animals plan is clever because the illustrator has lined up the animals and created a trail to each animal’s ear to show the reader that the ladybird is telling each animal the plan and their role in the plan. Create a simple model of the farm and use some programmable robots (e.g. roamer, remote control vehicles) to move around it. Could you decorate the roamer so that it looks like the ladybird?My mum got this for my 6month old daughter and shes loves to listen to the sounds of the animals she pulls funny faces and giggles. Great book Gather lots of leaves and try to arrange them to make a picture. Look at the work of Andy Goldsworthy to find more examples of how nature can be used to make art. Use these as inspiration to make your own. My eldest daughter got this for her second birthday and she adored it. Within a week she was finishing the rhyme with us and making all the noises. Great book to start the move from baby books into bigger story books. We loved it and look forward to reading it with the baby soon.