FLICKER'S GARDEN RESCUE

At the Grand Bug Hotel, blooming flowers must be pollinated to reap a crop of fruits and vegetables for everyone to enjoy at the Garden Party.

Queen Bee has terrible allergies, and her sneezing is preventing her from orchestrating the annual pollination event. Flicker, an earnest and helpful firefly, offers to coordinate the effort and begins to enlist her fellow bugs. Everyone, however, seems uninterested or is too busy. Roly Poly would rather practice ninja kicks, while Dazzle, a butterfly, is too involved in tinkering with an invention. Flicker launches into a quick plea about the necessity of pollination for the plants to produce good food, and her friends quickly agree to share the hard, messy work of pollination while singing a work song. The story arc’s conflict and resolution are depicted in bright, bold spring colors in scenes of a vibrant garden infused with golden yellow clusters of pollen. While Queen Bee gives a very loose explanation of the scientific concept—“Every year, the bugs and butterflies must gather pollen from the flowers…and carry it to the fruit and vegetable plants in the garden”—the book lacks backmatter with more information on pollinators. Still, overall, it’s a rousing and upbeat tale of cooperation that also sheds some light on a scientific process. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A blooming tale of teamwork and community.