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Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Ladybug Girl in Headdress? Gone!

Yesterday, Betsy Bird at School Library Journal wrote about a significant change to the picture book, Lady Bug Girl, written by David Soman and illustrated by Jacky Davis. First published in 2008, it came to my attention when a reader wrote to me about the endpapers, which showed Lady Bug Girl in a headdress. At the time, I wrote a Dear Parents of Ladybug Girl post (writing to the author and illustrator as her parents).

Looking at the image now, I'm drawn to what she's doing: she's got what looks like a lipstick in her hand and is, presumably putting "war paint" on her cheeks. See? David Arnold's character did that in Mosquitoland. Remember that? (My apologies for the poor quality of the images I'm using today.)



Well, a new edition of Lady Bug Girl is out, and, as Betsy noted, Lady Bug Girl in a headdress is gone from the endpapers. I was pleased as can be about that change! Below are the covers for the 2015 "Super Fan Edition" and beneath it is the original 2008 cover.



And here's the changed endpapers:



It is the second book I'm writing about this year, that has been changed--for the better--and as such, something all of us can celebrate! Thank you, Soman, Davis, and Dial (the publisher) for deciding to remove it. It is a step in the right direction. Betsy and I agree--if there was a note in the book about the change, it would help people take a step in the right direction with you, Soman and Davis. For now, though, thank you!

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4 comments:

  1. Thomas CrispThursday, November 12, 2015 at 3:26:00 PM CST

    Thank you for everything you do, Debbie. It's refreshing to see these types of responsible changes being made. I'm thrilled...and will also show my support and appreciation by buying some copies of these revised books!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousThursday, November 12, 2015 at 5:31:00 PM CST

    Yes! I'm so happy to see authors and publishers step up to the plate by owning up to where they went wrong, and choosing to do better moving forward.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Marjorie (MWD)Friday, November 13, 2015 at 2:19:00 PM CST

    That is great news.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownMonday, March 21, 2022 at 10:47:00 AM CDT

    Thanks for this. Unfortunately, the original edition of Ladybug Girl is still available. I wasn't aware of the issue for this title and recently reordered the 2008 edition for my library. Its odd that the publisher maintains the 2008 edition on their backlist.

    ReplyDelete


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