Jitterbug (Band of Bugs)

Kai Lüftner, Wiebke Rauers (Illustrator), Marshall Yarbrough (Translated by)

$19.95

Publication Date: April 4th, 2023

Publisher:

NorthSouth Books

ISBN:

9780735844995

Pages:

The MIT Press Bookstore

1 on hand, as of Apr 26 10:26am

(JR:PB)

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Description

This little ladybug will rock you!

Ladybugs are so cute, small, and fly so gently. Not so for the “Jitterbug”— Lady B. Marie! Her heart beats for rock 'n' roll. She holds the electric guitar in her hands, her voice belts out melodies, she sings and grooves like crazy. Papa, Mrs. Snail, and Grasshopper are less enthusiastic about the music and soon the other meadow dwellers leave the scene. She's just too loud! Does the Jitterbug give up? No! She sings alone on the tranquil meadow— This was more than glitz and glam. It was a declaration: “Here I am!” Right on cue, reinforcements arrive in the form of a colorful band of beetles who want to give a concert on the meadow. The band recognizes Marie's talent and now the show really gets going.

Word artist Kai Lüftner forges grandiose rhymes— impressively translated into English by Marshall Yarbrough. You can't help but be carried away by the charm and wit. In addition, Wiebke Rauers creates the amusing world of images for a little beetle that really turns up the amplifier.

About the Author

Kai Lüftner was born in East Berlin. He is a children’s and youth book author, musician, composer, audio book editor and director. In the meantime he has published more than 20 books, celebrated many successes with his children’s music project “Rotz’N’Roll” and musical concerts. Kai Lüftner lives with his family on the Danish Baltic Sea island of Bornholm.

Wiebke Rauers was born in Düsseldorf. She studied communication design with a focus on illustration in Düsseldorf. After graduating, she moved to Berlin and worked as a character designer in an animation studio. She has been a freelancer since 2015 and illustrates children’s books and films/series. She lives in Berlin with her daughter, her husband and lots of stuffed animals.

Marshall Yarbrough is a writer, translator, and musician. He has translated works by Ulla Lenze, Norman Ohler, and Wolf Wondratschek, among other authors. He lives in New York City.

Praise for Jitterbug (Band of Bugs)

"The audience will root for Lady B. and join in her triumph in the end."

— Children's Literature

"Translated adeptly from the original German, the rhyming couplets roll forth like song lyrics, which is unsurprising given that the author runs a children’s music project in his spare time. The artwork, with its dramatic and stunning angles, is done in multimedia collage as boldly colored as the hair of an '80s punk band [...] a sweet and simple message about self-acceptance, individuality, and letting your voice be heard."
— Booklist

"this picture book encourages children to dance to the beat of their own drums."
— Foreword Reviews

"Peppy pictures will rock you"
— Kirkus Reviews

Lady B. Marie is rock ‘n roll! What a lovely story with incredibly dynamic and vivid illustrations! High high recommend rocking out with Jitterbug.
— Bookbug Bookstore

Perfect for every kid who marches to their own drummer!
— Anna Brown

Fun book to help kids “Jitterbug” the wiggles and sillies out.
— Mollie Mitchell

"Jitterbug is the kind of book that will get kids trying out their own killer dance moves and vocal performances... who knew a ladybug could express so much emotion?!"
— Kara Cybanski