Ladybird, Ladybird

Blowing in the Wind - How Does That Bug Stay on Her Hand?

Like many other illustrations of this rhyme, this black and white image features a serene and sweet little girl. It is set in a grassy hill with a slender tree with thin, blossoming branches seemingly blowing in the wind.  The girl is a picture of gentleness and femininity, wearing a light, long dress and a wide, yet blunt, hat. Her dress and wavy hair blow in the breeze.  Her face is gentle and feminine with a hint of long eyelashes and full lips.  And she lets the bug sit on the unthreatening top of her hand (i.e. not the palm, which can close on it). The serenity of this image works against the urgency of the words in the rhyme. Perhaps it is meant to depict the superstition that sending a ladybird (ladybug) home brings good luck. The book was published in 1913 when Europe was at the brink of war, and Rackham's work is typical of illustrations published in the late 19th and early 20th century, suggesting nostalgia for a simpler time of peace and innocence. (Wagner) It is not, however, typical of the illustrations for which the artist himself is best known.