LOOK FOR LADYBUG IN PLANT CITY

“Welcome to Plant City, where plants grow and ladybugs hide.”

Her mischievous pet ladybug having taken a powder, Daisy, a brown bunny, enlists Basil, a blue lizard and the best detective in town, to track him down—amid teeming hordes of smiling creatures and mazes of vegetation in a museum, a fair, a rock concert (in a cave, naturally), and seven other leafy locales. Filling each oversized spread with bright color and busy activity, Manolessou invites viewers to spot not only the errant insect, but seven other members of the diverse all-animal cast sleeping, crying, carrying various items, or, at Hedge Hospital, suffering specified maladies. At last, Basil comes away from a visit to the silly hat store with Ladybug on his head, so it’s time for some celebratory ice cream. The printed narrative adds dialogue and minor flourishes to the rudimentary storyline, but the pictures, full as they are of lively action and byplay, should prove the main draw.

A moderately challenging addition to the “seek and find” genre, large of format and cheery of tone.