by Anna Humphrey ; illustrated by Mike Deas ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 18, 2023
Delivers on the protagonist’s promise of “exciting, educational, and occasionally gross” experiences.
An officious trainee policebee learns to kick back when her “flea-kini”–clad partner drags her to a pool party.
“Oh, quit being such a buzzy-body!” gripes Bee’s extroverted companion, Flea, as an invitation arrives in the splashy wake of a rainstorm. Indeed, once Bee gets over her terror of the water and dives into the puddle to find herself getting a pond-scum pie in the face from Copepod the Clown, being whirled off for a round of “pin the tail on the protist,” rescuing a baby water bear, and encountering a host of fellow partiers from heliozoans to daphnia, she considers the whole experience the bee’s knees. She even gets a commendation from her partner (“you figured out the water cycle all on your own”) after solving the mystery of what is causing the puddle to shrink. Despite expressive faces (and in the case of the cute baby tardigrade, huge googly eyes), the fauna in Deas’ frequent illustrations are drawn with enough naturalistic detail to be recognizable, and Humphrey tacks on a set of multiple-choice questions at the end to reinforce the STEM-centric elements she incorporates into much of this chapter book’s microscopic mischief. As in Bee and Flea’s initial meetup in Bee & Flea and the Compost Caper (2022), there’s plenty of entertaining back and forth in the friendship between the two main characters, too.
Delivers on the protagonist’s promise of “exciting, educational, and occasionally gross” experiences. (Informational fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: 9781771474436
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
Share your opinion of this book
More by Anna Humphrey
BOOK REVIEW
by Anna Humphrey ; illustrated by Irma Kniivila
BOOK REVIEW
by Anna Humphrey ; illustrated by Kass Reich
BOOK REVIEW
by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Rob Shepperson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2016
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
More by Claudia Mills
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Grace Zong
by Kwame Alexander & illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2011
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
Share your opinion of this book
More by Kwame Alexander
BOOK REVIEW
by Kwame Alexander & Randy Preston ; illustrated by Melissa Sweet
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Kwame Alexander & Deanna Nikaido ; illustrated by Melissa Sweet
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.