"What the Ladybird Heard" Small World Play

In February my sister came to stay for a couple of months with her son who is just 5 months older than Wugs.  She came bearing gifts and this particular gift, the book "What the Ladybird Heard" by Julia Donaldson has become a real treasure in the boys' book collection.  Whether it's the rhythmic repetition of the animal followed by the sound it makes or the little glittery ladybird that can be found on each page, this book has been Wugs' favourite for some time and so I decided to create a small world play based on it.







What we used:
Brown, red and yellow playdough
Craft sticks
Oats
Animal and people figurines
Fake flowers (for the tree)
Small shallow dish (for the pond)
Toilet roll (for the dog's kennel)
Small wooden block (one of the cats is sitting on)
Wooden box (for the cow shed)
Milo cereal balls (dung)

The small-world play isn't an exact representation of the picture in the book.  I didn't include the farmer's house as I had limited space in the tub and I wanted to focus on the parts of the story that Wugs pays close attention to - like the vegetable patch with the footprints of the two thieves across it and the dung in the corner.  Our "Hefty Hugh" and "Lanky Len" were two Duplo figurines (of identical proportions!) presiding over their map.

Whilst Wugs played with his small world, I read the story to him.  I'm not sure how much of it he heard as he was busily scooping up oats and emptying them over the tree and munching on Milo cereal balls.