Layla the Ladybug Used Wisdom and Not Her Emotions Authors Darlington Johnson and Stephanie Simpson have noticed many children reacting with their emotions first, and then there are the consequences for their reactions. They decided to write a children's book to encourage children to try to think out the situation thoroughly before reacting, and using the character Layla the Ladybug to help demonstrate how to handle a dilemma. Layla didn't react to her emotions; instead she found a way to fix the problem and have a better outcome.