This child-friendly book buzzes with positivity.
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. (Fiction. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68436-016-1
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Picture Window Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A strong, accessible diary story for readers seeking an adorable animal tale.
Bub the anxious pug tackles snow days and new neighbors in his second outing.
Bub, acclaimed by some as “the cutest pug on the planet,” at first shares the enthusiasm owner Bella expresses about snow days even though he doesn’t know what they are. Then Duchess the cat (mildly antagonistic, in typical feline fashion) rains on Bub’s parade by pointing out that snow is water—and Bub’s no fan of rain or baths. After a comedic and disastrous first attempt, Bub learns how to properly dress for snow and enjoy it. The outdoor fun’s cut short by mysterious noises coming from the new neighbor, which frighten Bella into thinking there’s a monster. Bub puts on a Sherlock Holmes get-up to investigate but becomes afraid himself of the new neighbor’s large dog. Finally, Bella meets Jack, who’s been working on a tree fort, and his dog, Luna, who is enthusiastically friendly. The story ends on a positive note, as they all happily work together on the fort. The full-color cartoon illustrations, especially of Bub, are adorably expressive and certain to please the age group. The generous font and format—short, diary-entry paragraphs and speech-bubble conversations—create a quick pace. Bub’s stylized emoji bubbles return and are most hilarious when used to express his nervous flatulence. Bella and Jack both present white.
A strong, accessible diary story for readers seeking an adorable animal tale. (Fantasy. 5-7)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-53006-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
Inviting.
A story inspired by a real-life effort to achieve social inclusion.
Rhyming text enriched by energetic, cartoon-style illustrations follows the diverse students in Miss Mellon’s class at recess. Most of the children dive into play with peers, but some feel timid or excluded. Those at play are initially oblivious to the discomfort of the others, but then a child named Jake notices someone using a crutch and hanging back from play. “ ‘It’s my leg,’ said Gabe. ‘I can’t run in a cast, / so I never get picked, not even last.’ ” Affable Jake responds, “Come play with us anyway. There’s time to spare,” causing Gabe to reply, “Wait a minute …I’ll be right there.” This interaction creates a compassionate domino effect of inclusion, with Gabe reaching out to another kid on the sidelines, and so on. When the children (and, oddly, an elephant and dragon) go inside after recess they ask, “how could we say, / without using words, that we all want to play?” Miss Mellon says they need “a seat / to wait for a friend or a buddy to meet.” It’s unfortunate the solution—the eponymous buddy bench—originates with an adult rather than the compassionate children themselves, especially since the author’s note reveals that it was a first grader who proposed the first one in the United States, but the generosity on display is heartening.
Inviting. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-88448-697-8
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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