A cozy, nonthreatening preschoolers’ introduction to some honeybee basics.
A little boy who enjoys observing honeybees has a magical adventure with them.
The narrator, a pale-skinned tot with close-cropped black hair, sits on an overturned flowerpot, gazing at the bees flying in and out of a bright blue hive. Inexplicably but delightfully, two bees have brought him an itty-bitty bee suit that shrinks him to “the size of a teeny-weeny honeybee.” Bella and Beatrice usher him past the guards and into the hive, which is dark but “smell[s] LOVELY.” Scaling the comb, he observes workers feeding beatifically smiling larvae, meets the Queen, and witnesses the waggle dance that, Bella informs him, “shows us where to find flowers.” Following a brief flight—his suit is equipped with tiny wings—he helps his friends gather strawberry nectar and dandelion pollen. Taking the suit off restores him to his full size, and the next day he thoughtfully “plant[s] lots of seeds and flowers” for his new friends. Readers accustomed to Voake’s flowing ink-and-wash paintings will note a departure here; these illustrations are constructed out of cut paper embellished with her familiar brushy lines. The focus is on whimsy rather than verisimilitude—these bees have just four legs, for instance—but this is a fantasy, after all. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A cozy, nonthreatening preschoolers’ introduction to some honeybee basics. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2045-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A wandering effort, happy but pointless.
The perfect book for kids who love dragons and mild tacos.
Rubin’s story starts with an incantatory edge: “Hey, kid! Did you know that dragons love tacos? They love beef tacos and chicken tacos. They love really big gigantic tacos and tiny little baby tacos as well.” The playing field is set: dragons, tacos. As a pairing, they are fairly silly, and when the kicker comes in—that dragons hate spicy salsa, which ignites their inner fireworks—the silliness is sillier still. Second nature, after all, is for dragons to blow flames out their noses. So when the kid throws a taco party for the dragons, it seems a weak device that the clearly labeled “totally mild” salsa comes with spicy jalapenos in the fine print, prompting the dragons to burn down the house, resulting in a barn-raising at which more tacos are served. Harmless, but if there is a parable hidden in the dragon-taco tale, it is hidden in the unlit deep, and as a measure of lunacy, bridled or unbridled, it doesn’t make the leap into the outer reaches of imagination. Salmieri’s artwork is fitting, with a crabbed, ethereal line work reminiscent of Peter Sís, but the story does not offer it enough range.
A wandering effort, happy but pointless. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3680-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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