I loved the strong message of listening to your heart. I will share this story with my students when I talk about heroes who don’t wear capes.

Freda is always told to be more careful. When she finds a wounded beetle, she takes it in to heal. It does. And it keeps growing!

Owlkids Books and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It has already been published, so you can get a copy now.

She and the blue beetle are best friends and they are inseparable. But he is getting huge and has a hearty appetite. When a ewe goes missing they blame him. So she takes him to the woods and lets him know he can't come back to town.

Then they find the ewe but they don't apologize.

When they have an awful storm and the building they took refuge in has the roof fall in they are trapped. But they hear something chewing. It's the blue beetle saving them.

After all this, the blue beetle and Freda leave town. Who knows where they settled?

What a beautiful story! Freda is a nonconformist that befriends a beetle. The beetle, Ernest, proves beneficial to the townsfolk, who sing his praises until they perceive fault with him and turn on him. It takes a moment of hardship for them to recognize the fault in their ways, but by then, both Freda and Ernest have moved beyond seeking their acceptance, and seek only to enjoy each other's friendship. It's a well-told story and I'm sure I could read this aloud to my primary grade students. Nicely done.

Letting your voice be heard can be difficult when you're a child especially so, when it differs from everyone else's. Freda is a kind soul who sees beauty and wonder whenever she goes. Her act of befriending a beetle goes unnoticed by her fellow townspeople until they realize they can benefit. A heartwarming story about friendship and staying true to yourself. Every voice matters no matter how small.

Gorgeous illustrations accompany this unique book about listening to your intuition and following your heart. Freda is a special girl who is caring and loves adventure. She nurses a small beetle, Ernest, who flourishes and grows large under her care. I would recommend this book for preschool and young elementary school students.

Thank you NetGalley and OwlKids Books for providing this ARC.

Freda always listens when the other townsfolk tell her what to do. Yet that doesn’t stop her from setting off on her own adventures, and one day she discovers an injured blue beetle. After taking him home and naming him Ernest, he soon thrives and grows huge—as does his appetite. When a prized ewe goes missing, the townsfolk suspect Ernest and complain until Freda finally listens and forces him away. However, after a sudden emergency, Freda knows Ernest is the only one who can help—but will he hear her?

Author Sophie Gilmore leans into an idea not often explored in picture books: learning when not to listen to someone is just as important as learning to listen at all. She does this by setting the villagers up as concerned neighbors, but soon their actions turn to obvious meddling. When they come between Freda and her new best friend—a calm, helpful entity—however, it’s apparent that their actions are damaging. But can Freda remedy the situation? Gilmore’s short, lyrical text makes these complex ideas more digestible.

All of this is enhanced by Gilmore’s watercolor and gouache illustrations. Through earthy tones, she creates a peaceful village that’s punched up by the sudden appearance of a blue beetle. The illustrations feel light, reminiscent of classic fairy tale collections, yet as the action turns to trouble, Gilmore provides a genuine surprise by suddenly changing the palette until the action settles down. It’s incredibly effective.

Ultimately, Freda and the Blue Beetle showcases a unique, intricate viewpoint in children’s literature and Sophie Gilmore is the perfect voice—and artist—to represent it.

I'm a bit torn by this book. I loved the beautiful illustrations. I wanted to love the story. On the surface it's a story about a girl listening to her own voice and trusting her instincts. Freda doesn't listen to the villagers when they warn her of the dangers around her. When they warn her not to bring the injured beetle she found home, she does it anyway. Ernest grows and is helpful around the village. But then a prized Ewe goes missing and everyone blames him. Freda listens and sends him away. This turns out to be a mistake and when the whole village finds itself in trouble, Ernest comes back to save Freda.

Ok, so I sincerely appreciate the idea of trusting yourself. However, there are times when we need to listen to those around us. And the ending...it put a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. The villagers were wrong, yes. But I want to teach my children about forgiveness and being the bigger person. I want them to listen to their own instincts but take the warnings of others seriously. I think this story could have been more balanced.

Sophie Gilmour is one of my new favourite children’s book authors. Her books have an incredible nostalgic quality, harkening back to the fables and fairy tales of many years ago. Many of us were raised on the classic fables and fairy tales of the past: Little Red Riding Hood, Chicken Little, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We have delightful childhood memories of listening to these stories and perhaps even learning mixed up versions of the same stories. Sophie Gilmour give us that feeling back. In the digital age where everything is faster, brighter and available at our fingertips we are reminded, through her stories, to slow down and enjoy the magic of a good story.

In Freda and the Blue Beetle we meet Freda who doesn’t always listen. She has a mind of her own which sometimes gets her into a spot of trouble. When she takes in a blue beetle, affectionately named Ernest, and nurses him back to health the whole town enjoys the help of Ernest as he grows big and strong, strong enough to fell trees and help plow the fields. As with anything unusual, soon the townspeople become wary of Ernest since he is eating what they consider to be more than his fair share, blaming him for the loss of a ewe and turning on him. Freda realizes that sometimes she has to listen but only to always listen to her heart.

Just like in Little Doctor, Sophie Gilmour takes us back in time to when life was seemingly more simple and stories had a clear aim and message. I really feel a sense of calm when I read her stories, the illustrations are muted and soft, perfect for a cozy time story. She does such an incredible job of capturing the feeling of the story in both words and illustrations. Her pictures are full of life but not busy, without too much outside noise. Her stories will be cherished additions to your bookshelf and will hold a place of nostalgia in your heart. These will be the stories that are passed down from us to the next generation

I enjoyed the graphic novel a lot!
I would like to thank the publisher for giving me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A treasure of a book about love, friendship, and true kindness with themes that are sure to be indelible for a young readers and instructors alike.

This book tells a story of adventure, following your heart and listening to yourself. It also tells the tale of a beautiful friendship that grows between a girl and a blue beetle that she finds and brings home. The story encourages you to stand up for others and to believe in yourself. Beautifully written with beautiful soft art with muted bright colors.

Thank you to Netgalley for the Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review!
#FredaAndTheBlueBeetle #NetGalley

This is a bit of a surreal tale about a girl named Freda and her friend, a giant blue beetle named Ernest. Freda is a girl who doesn't listen. She climbs trees and swims in dangerous waters. The townspeople think she's going to come to harm, but she often makes fascinating discoveries as a result of her disobedience. One day, she finds a little blue beetle with a broken wing. She takes him home, nurses him back to health, and gives him a name. But Ernest grows quickly, and when he proves to be strong, the villagers put him to work. That growth and strength relies on being fed, though, and after a prized sheep goes missing (and Ernest is blamed for eating it), he is cast out of the village. It isn't until a calamity befalls the village and Ernest comes to the rescue that the townspeople start to see his value (or, rather, how he can benefit them). The story ends with Freda making an unusual, though completely logical, choice.

I'm not sure about the message in this one. It might be just a bit too nuanced for younger readers. (It's basically: Don't listen to your elders if they're being self-serving bigots.) Learning when not to listen is an important skill, but I'd be concerned that some kids might take that too far. Discernment is key. As an adult, I like the message just fine, as I think it's important; we shouldn't listen to our elders if what they're telling us to do is potentially harmful. I just wonder if that message is clear enough in this particular book.

Overall, though, I think this could be a good picture book for slightly older kids who are starting to learn more about boundaries (and that adults--even if they have good intentions--aren't always right).

This is actually a book about not listening to people in authority. On the surface, it is a story about friendship, between Freda and her blue beetle. Underneath that, though, there lurks a hatred of the people in the village, because although the beetle does more work than everyone else, they resent that it also eats more than anyone else.

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/freda-and-the-blue-beelte.png" alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5464" />

Freda, in the end, realizes that she can't listen to the people of the village. That she has to listen to her heart.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

A little magical mystical, the art is perfect for this tale of trusting your own gut and the sadness that comes with being different sometimes. A blue bug that becomes very large is the icing on the cake for this message somehow..?

I’m not sure how this one will land in the picture book world but I enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
* I can’t find this book on Goodreads yet.*