A Good Place

by Lucy Cousins, Lucy Cousins (Illustrator)

Overview

“Conveys a very important lesson on ecosystem preservation nestled within an engaging story. . . .This is spring story time perfection.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

Bee, Ladybug, Beetle, and Dragonfly are looking for somewhere to live. And each has a different want: Bee loves flowers, Ladybug prefers leaves, Beetle is fond of dead wood, and Dragonfly likes ponds. But every time they find what seems like the perfect spot—with beautiful flowers, a tiny pond, some dead wood, or gorgeous green leaves—they discover it’s underfoot, near traffic, or otherwise not safe. Will these four friends ever find a good place? Lucy Cousins brings her bold artwork and endearing characters to an inviting story that leads to a dazzling conclusion, showing children that even in an urban environment, encouraging wildlife and natural ecosystems can create a healthy and beautiful habitat for all of us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536236286
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	03/19/2024
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	215,482
Product dimensions:	9.88(w) x 10.25(h) x 0.19(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Lucy Cousins is the creator of the beloved Maisy series as well as a series about Little Fish. She is also the author-illustrator of the widely acclaimed Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year, as well as Let’s Play Monsters!; I’m the Best; Hooray for Fish!; Hooray for Birds!; and Splish, Splash, Ducky!

Editorial Reviews

Cousins conveys a very important lesson on ecosystem preservation nestled within an engaging story for preschoolers. The illustrations of the crawly critters and their escapades, in her bold and energetic style, make this title a welcome addition to the shelves. . . this is spring story time perfection.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Caregivers and teachers can use the book as a springboard to discuss insect habitats with youngsters. Cousins sticks to her trademark style of bold, simple, uncluttered gouache pictures against solid backgrounds. . . . A subtly allegorical story about the universal search for home.

—Kirkus Reviews

In Ms. Cousins’s vivid illustrations, thick with paint and naif in style, we meet a bee, a ladybug, a dragonfly and a beetle who are all searching for decent accommodation. . . . . ‘I can help you,’ says the butterfly, who knows—as children ages 2-5 will delight to see—just the lush, lovely place for the insects to make their new home.
—The Wall Street Journal

Cousins always creates a colorful, engaging world, and her new title, ‘A Good Place,’ is no exception.
—The Florida Times-Union

With good cheer (and zero lecturing), Cousins makes the case for making the world a friendly place for the little creatures, and for the joy humans can find in making a home for them and observing them.
—The Virginian Pilot

From the Publisher

★ 04/01/2022

PreS-K—A quartet of six-legged friends—Bee, Dragonfly, Beetle, and Ladybug—are on an adventure to find a good place to settle. And what should a good place have? For each of the bug buddies that differs: Bee would like flowers, Ladybug needs leaves, Beetle must have dead wood, and Dragonfly yearns for a pond. Every time they think they have found their spot in the busy city, they quickly realize it is too busy or polluted to be safe. As luck would have it, the very discouraged bugs cross paths with a beautiful butterfly who has the inside scoop on a well-kept garden nearby. Cousins conveys a very important lesson on ecosystem preservation nestled within an engaging story for preschoolers. The illustrations of the crawly critters and their escapades, in her bold and energetic style, make this title a welcome addition to the shelves. VERDICT An accessible tale of conservation told from the perspective of nature's tiniest creatures, this is spring story time perfection.—Sarah Simpson

School Library Journal

2022-01-12
Four insects set out on a mission to find the perfect home.

Bee thinks some flowers would do the trick, so the foursome install themselves in a cluster of yellow daisies growing out of a sidewalk; but human foot traffic poses danger, so they conclude that “this is not a good place.” Dragonfly suggests that they try living in a pond, but the one they find turns out to be a puddle in the middle of an unsuitably busy street. Beetle’s and Ladybug’s ideas also come to naught. “Hungry and sick and tired,” the little swarm succumb to despair. Luckily, they meet a sympathetic butterfly who knows “a good place to live.” The four friends follow Butterfly over a brick wall, where a better home than anything they could have ever imagined awaits. The simple text will draw young children in with its repetition and strong opportunities for making inferences. Instead of quotation marks, typographical shifts are used to distinguish narration from dialogue. Caregivers and teachers can use the book as a springboard to discuss insect habitats with youngsters. Cousins sticks to her trademark style of bold, simple, uncluttered gouache pictures against solid backgrounds. No human characters are shown, but Butterfly notes that a boy is responsible for creating the “good place” the insects ultimately embrace as their abode.

A subtly allegorical story about the universal search for home. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews