BEE MINE

A board book that buzzes with assurances of love.

Each rhyming four-line stanza reads like a sentimental valentine but manages to include the name of the featured critter while describing some of its salient characteristics. The smiling bees on the first spread show through a shaped cutout on the cover. The next six spreads each present one bas-relief bug on the left and a diecut that incorporates the other on the right. Turn the page, and the cutout allows the pair to be seen with noses touching, with a “kiss kiss” caption to make sure readers understand what’s going on. The sunny shades of yellow on the bee’s page shift to red for the ladybugs, purple for fireflies, blue-green for snails, green for caterpillars, and orange for their cocoons. Unfortunately, the black background against which the purple butterflies emerge surrounded by a rainbow of flowers dilutes the intensity of the colors on what could have been the brightest page. This book can be shared at many levels—to talk about colors or to celebrate spring and love, with a value-added lesson on metamorphosis for older preschoolers. The colors are not named but young children, will recognize them even as they quickly grab each shaped diecut to turn the pages. Thankfully, the pages are extra thick and quite sturdy.

The subtitle says it all.