Aphids and the Ladybug
Benjamin Gibson
Presents...
Aphids and the Ladybug Written and Illustrated by
Benjamin Gibson
This book is for Sarah
One day in the snail’s garden...
5
Finley the snail decided that they wanted to visit the garden’s renowned aphid farms, well known for raising the best aphids in the area.
Finley was friends with one of the best aphid herders around, Larry the ladybug
and Finley wanted to know if they would teach Finley a thing or two about herding aphids. 7
It had been a long time since Larry and Finley had seen each other so Finley was very excited to have the opportunity to catch up with their friend.
When Larry finally saw Finley, he rushed over to say hello! “Hello, Finley! What brings you out here?”
“Hi, Larry! I came to visit you because I wanted to see if you could show how to begin herding aphids!” 9
“Oh… uh… about that…” replied Larry “I was thinking about stopping being an aphid herder.”
“What! But you’re the best there is! Why would you ever want to stop?” asked Finley. 10
“I don’t know, I just don’t feel like it’s who I am anymore.” Larry began looking sad. Finley felt sorry for their friend, Larry looked unhappy with how he has been spending his time.
“I only started aphid herding because that is what my parents wanted me to do.” said Larry.
“At first it was fun but now I see that aphid herding was never really what I wanted. I was just doing it to make my parents happy”. 12
“I understand,” said Finley. “Sometimes we do things just so others will like us, even if it doesn’t make us happy. I’m sure that your parents will understand!”
Finley and Larry went to go and talk to Finley’s parents. Larry was nervous that his parents would be mad at him.
“Don’t worry Larry,” said Finley. “Your parents are there for you and will love you no matter what!”
Larry took a deep breath and got ready to talk to his parents about what he wanted. He knew that no matter what, this is what he needed to do. 15
“Mom, Dad, I don’t want to be an aphid herder anymore! I want to be an artist!” Larry’s parents stood and looked at Larry and Finley in total silence before…
“Yay!” Larry’s parents began cheering! “Thank you for telling us Larry, we always knew it wasn’t your dream to herd aphids,” said Larry’s mom.
“When I was your age, I wanted to be a dancer, but I was too afraid to tell my parents,” said Larry’s dad. 17
Larry was so happy that he ran up and hugged his parents as tight as he could. “Thank you, Mom, thank you, Dad, I can’t wait to show you all of the great art that I’m going to make!”
Larry turned to Finley, excited about following his dream. “Thank you most of all Finley, if it wasn’t for you, I don’t think I could have ever followed my dream.”
Finley looked at Larry and smiled. “Of course Larry, that’s what friends are for.” 19
About the Snail’s Garden
The Snail’s Garden was written as a way to introduce children to the idea of being themselves. An issue that children will face early on in life is a sense of not knowing who they are. It is important for young children to understand that its ok to be themselves and that life if not about fitting in with everyone else’s expectations. Through the adventures of Finley the snail, children will learn to accept themselves for who they are and not who other people want them to be.
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The Snail’s Garden the Busy Bee
In the Snail’s Garden, everyday is an adventure. Join Finley the snail as they visit their friend Larry the ladybug and watch the two of them learn the importance of being themselves.