The Bee Without Wings

February 1, 2023
A warm relationship develops between a young child and a wingless bumblebee. When Sasha notices the titular bee, she is immediately moved to help, first placing the inert body in the cup of a crocus, then offering her a sugar-water solution. The latter remedy works, reviving the bee, who comically poses on two pipestem legs, the other four flexed like a bodybuilder's. In the land of the living the bee may be, but without wings, she can't forage for food or flee predators. Christening her new insect friend Bea, Sasha cares for her all summer, even going so far as to fashion a homemade paraglider so Bea can experience flight. But bumblebees' lives are short, "and one sad, unfixable day, Bea was gone." The following spring, Sasha pays tribute to Bea with a bee-friendly garden. Williams' flight of fancy is stronger visually than textually, illustrations investing both the peanut-shaped black-and-yellow bee and Sasha's cat, Molly, with expressive appeal. Bea is voiceless, however, and this combines with her physical helplessness to undermine the illustrations' efforts--she's more an object for Sasha's benevolence than a character with any real agency. Sasha has beige skin and a light-brown bob. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Real bees need human help; this fictional bee needs a character makeover to really fly. (bee facts, information on creating a bee-friendly garden) (Picture book. 3-6)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2023
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* When Sasha and her cat, Molly, find a bee in the garden with no wings, they nurse it back to health with sugar water. But even after recovering, it's clear that life is difficult for a wingless bee, as it's unable to reach the flowers or flee from danger. So Sasha carefully constructs a special structure to help the bee fly, and the experience is glorious. Bees, however, have a short life span, so one sad day the bee is gone, but its memory lives on in Sasha's backyard bee garden. This story is beautifully told through economical but powerful prose, and the pages are full of sincere emotions--from grief and mourning to joyous revelry--all exquisitely rendered with gouache and colored pencils in soothing nature colors. Inspired by the true story of a woman who cared for a wingless bee, the book's back matter includes everything from the dangers of pesticides to guidance in selecting native and pollinator-friendly plants for your own bee garden. If you've never fallen in love with a bee, you will here.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2023
Inspired by a news article about a woman who cared for a wingless bee found in her garden, this picture book follows young Sasha, who discovers, rescues, and befriends a small bee in need. The story starts on the ground, below the flowers, tracing the path of a walking bee who has no wings. "On the warm spring day when Sasha first saw the bee, she didn't realize something was wrong. Then she saw." Though the illustrations feature joyous spring colors created with gouache and colored pencils, they effectively express the emotional distress of Sasha (and her cat Molly) and the exhaustion and misery of the little bee. Visual shifts in point of view emphasize how small and helpless it is. With support and care, the creature, eventually named Bea, thrives, but its life without wings still poses challenges. Finally, Sasha imagines and constructs a solution that allows Bea some daily flight time. While the anthropomorphism throughout is fantastical, the story is embedded in firm realism: bees have a short lifespan. "And one sad, unfixable day, Bea was gone." The final tribute Sasha pays to her friend will carry on for generations of bees while offering a jumping-off point for readers. Illustrated back matter includes information and helpful tips for those who want to support the bees who buzz around their own homes and neighborhoods. Julie Roach

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2023
Inspired by a news article about a woman who cared for a wingless bee found in her garden, this picture book follows young Sasha, who discovers, rescues, and befriends a small bee in need. The story starts on the ground, below the flowers, tracing the path of a walking bee who has no wings. "On the warm spring day when Sasha first saw the bee, she didn't realize something was wrong. Then she saw." Though the illustrations feature joyous spring colors created with gouache and colored pencils, they effectively express the emotional distress of Sasha (and her cat Molly) and the exhaustion and misery of the little bee. Visual shifts in point of view emphasize how small and helpless it is. With support and care, the creature, eventually named Bea, thrives, but its life without wings still poses challenges. Finally, Sasha imagines and constructs a solution that allows Bea some daily flight time. While the anthropomorphism throughout is fantastical, the story is embedded in firm realism: bees have a short lifespan. "And one sad, unfixable day, Bea was gone." The final tribute Sasha pays to her friend will carry on for generations of bees while offering a jumping-off point for readers. Illustrated back matter includes information and helpful tips for those who want to support the bees who buzz around their own homes and neighborhoods.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)