If it didn’t say so in its App Store listing, we might have guessed that Lucy Ladybird’s creators were inspired by the books of Eric Carle: there’s definitely a Very Hungry Caterpillary feel of craft about this.

The app tells the tale of Lucy Ladybird, a ladybird with no spots, who gets some help from her friends Fred Frog, Carla Caterpillar, Felicity Fish and Bella Bird.

“A perfect way to broach the concepts of difference and acceptance, with a BIG surprise ending,” promises that App Store listing. “With all the warmth, charm and appeal of the beloved Eric Carle. The collage illustrations will also inspire your kids to create art & craft, and open up a world of imagination.”

There’s original music – complete with a karaoke section – digital colouring and a spider-hunting mini-game to complement the main story of Lucy’s search for her spots. Thee are also more colouring sheets to download (as well as the theme tune) from the Lucy Ladybird website.

The app is the work of developer Ian Clark and writer/illustrator Sharon King-Chai, who’s previously worked on album covers for the likes of David Bowie and Blur. We’ve been playing with Lucy Ladybird tonight, and on the strength of this first collaboration, we hope they team up for more children’s apps in the future.

Lucy Ladybird costs £3.99 for iPad on Apple’s App Store. Here’s its official video trailer: