Bee-you-tiful.
Our familiar, tiny (and, of course, impatient) hero is back to study pollination.
The harried nymphalid from Burach’s previous tales learns yet another large scientific term (“Polli-WHAT-now?”). Butterfly sees Bee sitting on a flower, covered in yellow specks, and wonders what exactly is happening. After a quick lesson, an extraordinary fact comes to light: Butterflies are pollinators, too! Feigning nonchalance, Butterfly launches an endless string of questions: “Right. Right. Pollen. What’s pollen again?” “NOW what are you doing?” “Got it. So…how many flowers do bees visit each day??” In awe at the amount of pollen Bee collects, Butterfly tries to keep up and even transform into a bee (with the help of some glue, extra pollen baskets, and an elaborate, over-the-top jet pack). Bee, however, with wise assurance, advises after each attempt, “Just be a butterfly.” Full of witty banter, the back-and-forth exchanges told through different colored speech bubbles are ideal for pairs to read aloud. The fun wordplay (the pollinator baskets come from “Flykea”; a poster in the background of one page shows an equation from “Einsting”) also adds to the delight. Combining info on the natural world with lessons on self-acceptance, this is a buzzworthy choice. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Bee-you-tiful. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: 9781338752632
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.
The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.
Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780063329560
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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