Visually lovely and tonally appealing, this book will be best used when additional information is available to help with...
Henry learns a lesson in responsibility and nature in this quiet tale of love and honeybees.
Henry lives with his aunt Lilla in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Lilla’s home is a small farm, and the two rely on honey from their beehives and eggs for their henhouse for added income. Henry is fascinated by the honeybees, and he accompanies his aunt whenever possible to watch her work the hives. As Lilla works, she explains the behavior and habits of the bees to Henry, but he’s still too young to help. On his own one day during swarm season, Henry puts on her beekeeping suit so he can visit the hives and help the bees discover the swarm box that Lilla has set up. While putting on Lilla’s beekeeping suit, Henry spills a bottle of “bee drops” (a mysterious liquid that has a pleasing smell to honeybees) on the suit. The bee drops attract the swarm to the much-too-large suit, and Lilla is able to capture it. It’s in this resolution that the story stumbles, as, for all of Lilla’s explanations of beekeeping, the bee drops go undefined. The sentimental author’s note does not fill in that gap. LaMarche’s artwork, a vibrant combination of watercolor and ink, glows and will make many readers want to visit Aunt Lilla’s home.
Visually lovely and tonally appealing, this book will be best used when additional information is available to help with questions. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-56145-953-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
Music takes center stage and bullies get properly pun-ished in this hearty and wholesome howl.
In this picture book from singer Parton and co-author Perl, a small French bulldog goes to Nashville, joins a band, fends off bullies, and meets one of the queens of country music.
Promising at the outset that this is just the first of a series of adventures starring her beloved “god-dog,” Parton goes on to hit all the conventional thematic notes. Inspired by musical dreams, Billy heads for Nashville. After a “ruff day” in which being scorned by big dogs for not being a “true muttropolitan” leaves him feeling “lower than a stick on the ground,” he eats some flowers, strums some tunes, forms a band with a trio of little dogs, and, after sending the big pooches packing, trots out a “pawsome” performance at the “Battle of the Bow-Wows.” And from there it’s on to the Grand Ole Opry to hear his big-haired favorite singer warble out lines from her song “Makin’ Fun Ain’t Funny,” about celebrating differences rather than mocking them. Haley slips those lines, along with references to “Jowlene” and “I will pawlways love you,” into painted scenes of an all-dog-or-Dolly cast set against swirls of music and simply drawn backdrops. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Music takes center stage and bullies get properly pun-ished in this hearty and wholesome howl. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9780593661574
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
IN THE NEWS
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
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.
