THE FLIGHT OF THE BUZBY BEE

Name: THE FLIGHT OF THE BUZBY BEE
Author: David; Illus. by the author Lyon
ISBN: 0-9741328-0-2

by David; Illus. by the author Lyon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 1936

While the story is merely adequate, the lively and colorful paintings, with faces strongly reminiscent of those in The Magic...

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Bright, entertaining illustrations accompany an odd little text about the lives and adventures of bees.

Musician Buzby Bee, like all the other bees, is in love with his queen, in this case a regal bee with a blue pageboy hairdo. When the queen asks for a volunteer to bring her special nectar from a faraway garden, no one steps forward. Buzby, not exactly the adventurous type, accidentally volunteers himself when he sneezes during the proceedings. Alas, his reluctant quest soon becomes more difficult than he had planned. The flowers that provide the special nectar will not bloom, a dandelion informs Buzby, until a friend of theirs, picked yesterday, is rescued from a nearby house. Nearly defeated by the closed window, Buzby gains entrance to the house after a friendly Fly and Firefly show him the way. After rescuing the captured flower, they attach it to its roots with a Band-Aid. Soon all the flowers bloom, filled with glee that their friend has been saved–and as promised, they allow Buzby to gather the nectar. Back at the hive, the queen shares her special honey with Buzby in gratitude for his bravery, and agrees to go to the garden to meet his many new friends.

While the story is merely adequate, the lively and colorful paintings, with faces strongly reminiscent of those in The Magic Roundabout, are full of delight. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 1936

ISBN: 0-9741328-0-2

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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RED-EYED TREE FROG

by Joy Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999

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Bishop’s spectacular photographs of the tiny red-eyed tree frog defeat an incidental text from Cowley (Singing Down the Rain, 1997, etc.). The frog, only two inches long, is enormous in this title; it appears along with other nocturnal residents of the rain forests of Central America, including the iguana, ant, katydid, caterpillar, and moth. In a final section, Cowley explains how small the frog is and aspects of its life cycle. The main text, however, is an afterthought to dramatic events in the photos, e.g., “But the red-eyed tree frog has been asleep all day. It wakes up hungry. What will it eat? Here is an iguana. Frogs do not eat iguanas.” Accompanying an astonishing photograph of the tree frog leaping away from a boa snake are three lines (“The snake flicks its tongue. It tastes frog in the air. Look out, frog!”) that neither advance nor complement the action. The layout employs pale and deep green pages and typeface, and large jewel-like photographs in which green and red dominate. The combination of such visually sophisticated pages and simplistic captions make this a top-heavy, unsatisfying title. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-590-87175-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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TOUCHING SPIRIT BEAR

by Ben Mikaelsen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 28, 2001

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Troubled teen meets totemic catalyst in Mikaelsen’s (Petey, 1998, etc.) earnest tribute to Native American spirituality. Fifteen-year-old Cole is cocky, embittered, and eaten up by anger at his abusive parents. After repeated skirmishes with the law, he finally faces jail time when he viciously beats a classmate. Cole’s parole officer offers him an alternative—Circle Justice, an innovative justice program based on Native traditions. Sentenced to a year on an uninhabited Arctic island under the supervision of Edwin, a Tlingit elder, Cole provokes an attack from a titanic white “Spirit Bear” while attempting escape. Although permanently crippled by the near-death experience, he is somehow allowed yet another stint on the island. Through Edwin’s patient tutoring, Cole gradually masters his rage, but realizes that he needs to help his former victims to complete his own healing. Mikaelsen paints a realistic portrait of an unlikable young punk, and if Cole’s turnaround is dramatic, it is also convincingly painful and slow. Alas, the rest of the characters are cardboard caricatures: the brutal, drunk father, the compassionate, perceptive parole officer, and the stoic and cryptic Native mentor. Much of the plot stretches credulity, from Cole’s survival to his repeated chances at rehabilitation to his victim being permitted to share his exile. Nonetheless, teens drawn by the brutality of Cole’s adventures, and piqued by Mikaelsen’s rather muscular mysticism, might absorb valuable lessons on anger management and personal responsibility. As melodramatic and well-meaning as the teens it targets. (Fiction. YA)