BUMBLE B. MISSION FUN

Three short stories star a spunky, confident girl.

In this series opener, Beatrice Honey “Bumble B.” Flynn, a beekeeper’s daughter, challenges herself to three “missions.” In the first, she trades her usual Halloween costume, a bee, for a self-designed superhero, Super Bee. She works hard on her costume, but her initial enthusiasm’s dampened by cape mishaps and a less-than-kind boy—however, that cape pays off in a sudden rainstorm. In the second story, a science-club activity groups Bumble B. with less-receptive kids instead of her best friends for an outdoor-observation exercise. A clumsy mishap embarrasses Bumble B. only for a moment before she turns it into a chance to kick-start her group’s mission, loosening them up with her unwavering enthusiasm and winning their friendship. In the final story, Bumble B. helps her friend Kalia at Kalia’s grandmother’s garden stand at the farmers market. Despite her good intentions, the easily distracted Bumble B. isn’t the best worker—but eventually she discovers that the best way to help is through her own spin, contributing bee-themed art for the flower buckets. Bumble B.’s genuinely childlike emotions keep her from becoming a Pollyanna. Bumble B. is white; aside from Kalia and her grandmother, who appear to be Asian, diversity is present in Bumble B.’s other best friend, brown-skinned Rosa, and her science groupmate Otto, who has brown skin and glasses.

This child-friendly book buzzes with positivity.