A sweet reminder that BEE-lieving in oneself doesn’t necessarily mean coming in first place.
A honeybee learns that sometimes lending a helping hand matters more than winning a race.
Buzzy Bee, who lives in a hive on Nectar Drive with his family, eagerly awaits the annual bee race. But he feels intimidated—previous family members have won the race in the past, and though he’s trained hard, he isn’t sure he can measure up. His parents assure him that he’s improving slowly and urge him to be patient. Their encouragement works, and he performs well during the race. His best friend, Bumble Bee, takes the lead; Buzzy isn’t far behind. But when Bumble takes a tumble as both approach the finish line, Buzzy must make a hard choice—win or help a pal? The chunky, child-friendly artwork features heavily anthropomorphized bees with yellow bodies and brown stripes; some sport hats, bows, or big googly glasses, effectively capturing their different personalities. Sometimes-strained rhyming lines and delightfully amusing bee-related puns add to this relatable story’s appeal, helping the positive message about friendship and doing the right thing go down smoothly. Mama and Daddy Bee tell Buzzy that each day offers a fresh opportunity to try again, even when things don’t go as expected—a message that will encourage resilience and steer readers away from a focus on winning at all costs.
A sweet reminder that BEE-lieving in oneself doesn’t necessarily mean coming in first place. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9780593624463
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.
With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?
Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7033-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
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