I love the little touches of humor in this story which I am sure any adult sharing this book with a young child will really enjoy such as this:
"One day, the bees met in the hive to discuss why they were always so cramped. They didn't have enough space to play sudoku, Parcheesi and or even checkers."
On this page the bees are reading their newspaper - the Honey Times. And on the page where the bees are talking about how to find this terrible extra bee the law book has the title - Bee Laws by Bee Good. You might also spot a Rubics cube, security cameras, and a machine called a pinocchiotronic - yes it's a lie detector.
The bees are in a housing crisis. They employ three architects - naturally things in the hive are based on a hexagon. The experts conclude there is one bee too many and immediately accusations fly around the room - this is such a disturbing scene:
- a foreign bee
- an immigrant bee
- a dirty bee
- a robber eating OUR honey
- it might carry germs
- it wants to take my job
How can the members of the hive find this extra bee. Should they assign a number to each bee - no. The lawyer suggests everyone needs a passport and birth certificate; and the linguist suggests listening to every bee as a way to detect a foreign accent.
Finally the Queen Bee steps in with her words of wisdom and the obvious solution.
There are fabulous words in this book - incredulously; dramatic pause; hysteria; requirements; worrisome; and chilling conclusion.
Featuring surreal and elaborate illustrations reminiscent of Catalan modernism, readers are sure to find new surprising details in every read. Originally published in Spanish, it has won prestigious awards such as the White Ravens List, Golden Medal of the Campoy-Ada Award, and USA National Children Literature Award. from Dymocks bookseller page
I would like to find the context for this quote from the back cover of the book: “The picture book comes across inconspicuously, but it is the most beautiful and cleverest philosophical book that has been on the book market for a long time” ―Hans Christian Andersen Committee - I am not sure if the author or illustrator were perhaps nominated for the HCAA Award.
Another reviewer quoted on the back cover uses the words - whimsy, delight, moving and captivating.
Listen to a sample of an audio reading. Kim Amate comes from Spain and Andrés Pi Andreu is originally from Cuba but now lives in the US.
Pair this book with:
It is not related to this book but in February I will also be reading and talking another bee book by Australian author Megan Daley illustrated by Max Hamilton.
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