Ladybug Stories, Poems, and Songs Magazine for Young Kids and Children July/August 2016

Linda walked six dogs around the park every day, their leashes tight in her hand. “Remember, we stay together on the path,” she reminded them. They always went the same way. Teddy led the group while searching for squirrels. Pepper limped on old feet, looking for children because hers had grown up. Scout, the retired police dog, shadowed Linda, hoping for a treat. Lucky sniffed the air for the smell of water and a chance to swim. Lulu was thirsty most days, wanting a long drink. Chip needed to chew and looked everywhere for something to gnaw. They walked together, toenails clicking and tails wagging. They stopped when Linda stopped and walked when Linda walked. Until the day a squirrel ran in front of them. Teddy bolted, pulling his leash…

“Ready to pick lychees, Hannah?” Daddy asks as we pull into my grandmother’s driveway. “Ready.” I smile and scramble from the car. Clunk! Daddy closes his car door. He strolls to the lychee tree in my grandmother’s front yard. “Hello, Family Tree,” Daddy says, patting its trunk. There Daddy goes, treating that tree like it’s a person. I’m giggling at Daddy when the screen door opens and my grandmother pops out into the Florida sunshine. I call her “Nainai,” a Chinese word for “Grandma.” Nainai used to live in China, in a province called Guangdong. That’s where she learned to grow lychees. Nainai smiles and tugs on her baseball cap. The cap hides her short hair, which looks like the black bristles in my hairbrush. “Hungry for lychees, Hannah?” Nainai…

Grandpa and me, side by side , swing our way into town. White-throated sparrow sings in a tree, so we flap our way into town. Prairie gopher nibbles grain in the field. Why not scurry our way into town? Blue grama grasses wag their fingers at us. We should waggle our way into town. Pretty palomino and her rider pass by. Let’s prance our way into town! Grandpa and me, in a hand-in-hand dance, Swinging our way into town.…

Mis-ter Moon fol-lows me when I ride in the car at night. He smiles down at me from the win-dow on my right. We turn, and I think he's gone, till I look a-round and see Through an -oth - er win-dow there he is, still smil-ing down at me! Mis - ter Moon fol - lows me when I ride in the car at night. He smiles down at me from the win - dow on my right. We turn, and I think he’s gone, till I look a - round and see Through an - oth - er win-dow there he is, still smil-ing down at me!…

One evening Little Turtle sat on a log, gazing at the night sky. “Oops!” Little Turtle suddenly fell off the log. “Are you all right, dear?” asked Mama Turtle. “I’m OK,” said Little Turtle. “I just got a bit dizzy looking up at the sky for so long.” “You really love the stars,” said Mama Turtle as they walked home. “Maybe one day you’ll become an astronaut and fly high above the Earth in a rocket.” Little Turtle’s mother tucked him into bed. “I would love to fly to the stars someday, Mama!” said Little Turtle. “I’m sure you will, Little Turtle,” she said and gave him a good-night kiss. When Little Turtle fell asleep, he had a wonderful dream: he was an astronaut zooming around the stars. And Mama…

We’re also a hog wash or a frog wash . . . and for frog kids? We’re a polliwog wash. Let us bathe your rhinos, dirty dinos, filthy alligators, and your fresh-dug potaters. Yup, we wash bears, chairs, and well-dressed hares, pet armadillos with fluffy down pillows. We’ll wash your cow, your horse, your duck, your moose—EVEN your ill-tempered, bad mannered, fowl-mouthed goose! Thud sprays warm clean water, splashing soap, suds, and bubbles. The hard work of scrubbing up is somehow always Muddle’s. And yes, we all have that friend who could use a good shampoo! (Remember us when pals need washin’— we will properly soak and slosh ‘em!)…