Bee & Me

McGuiness, E.J. (2009). Bee & Me. (H. Brown, illus.). Denver: Accord Publishing.

Genre: Picture Storybook/Informational
Format: Toy Book
Age Recommendation: 1-5 years

Young children will ooh and aah at Bee & Me, a story of only a few pages in which a little bee gets chased inside of a house by a dog only to get trapped inside with a little boy. "'Please help me,' said Bee, as I peered through the crack. 'I'm in a big hurry and have to get back. My friends are all busy working hard at the hive. They wiggle, they waggle, they jiggle and jive'." Told in rhyme, children's attention will easily be kept, yet the best part is the three dimensional aspect to each page, as different parts of the bee move as the page is turned back and forth. In one scene the bee shakes his booty, in another tears trickle down as he explains that all bees try to do is help people. They help the flowers and trees, yet humans run away in fear. In the end, the bee is released, and the boy is no longer afraid of bees: "Now that I've met you---I'm not scared anymore. I know lots about bees, way more than before." This book will serve as a perfect tool to teach young children about bees as well as comfort them about being around bees, yet the book does not seem to mention that bees sting and can cause pain, which is something I think children need to know as well. The last thing parents want is for their young children to seek out bees and personally investigate them. Overall, I recommend Bee & Me to all librarians, as it would make a perfect addition to an early childhood collection.

Brimful Curiosities. (2009, March 20). Bee & Me - Review and Book Giveaway. Retrieved from http://www.brimfulcuriosities.com/2009/03/bee-me-review-and-book-giveaway.html.

In her blog, Brimful Curiosities does a great job of reviewing the book. She provides the basic plot, and adds in the fact that "Bee & Me teaches kids the ecological and environmental importance of the honeybee and instructs children to respect the remarkable insect." In addition, she raves about the illustrations, saying "Young and old alike will have a hard time setting this unique moving picture book down with it's colorful, eye-catching illustrations by Heather Brown. Even my one-year-old watches with fascination and wonder as the pictures move." Perhaps what I liked best about the review was the fact that she gave a name to the three-dimensional aspect within the book, which is apparently called an AniMotion™ Illustration Technique. I for one feel relieved to know that there's a name for it, and that it's not something I should have known off the top of my head. Overall, it was a good review, and it's a great review if you consider the fact that she attached a YouTube video to her post which includes an interview of the author and illustrator.