Hitchin' A Ride: Bee & Bird by Craig Frazier

The more you see--the more you understand.

What begins as simple glowing shapes in bright yellow and shiny black stripes with an accent of red is NOT an abstract color-block painting. In reverse magnification accomplished with the turn of a page, the view we see (from a sky view) is that the picture is actually a bee hitchhiking a ride on the top of a red bird's head.

As we continue to zoom out, we see the two atop a field of green which upon further zoom becomes a small tree being transported in the bed of a yellow truck. When the truck stops to deliver its load, the hitchhikers shift to a black-and-white background, which zooms out to show them riding bareback on the wide back of a cow.

A patch of white surrounded by blue becomes the sail of a boat as the two hitch a ride across a pond, where bird and bee then bum a boost in the basket of a boy's bike, headed for--well, where would a bee be bound at the end of a busy day?

Craig Frazier's Bee & Bird (Roaring Brook, 2011) does not disappoint, as the final spread shows bars of color with an arc of black which zooms out to reveal--a symmetrical beehive, with Bird perched on top and Bee finding his day's destination as he buzzes into the hive.

Besides its obvious virtues of design, enticing eye-candy art, this book provides youngsters the opportunity to predict what each successive image will be when zoomed out--a sort of mental exercise in a novel wordless book with an old premise--that of finding the truth in a wider world view. As Kirkus Reviews tweets, "an interesting and urbane read."

Odd Couple: Honeybee and Horsefly by Randy Cecil

HONEYBEE WAS TIRED. SO HE YAWNED AND PLOPPED DOWN INSIDE A FLOWER FOR A NAP.

BUT A HORSEFLY WAS ALREADY INSIDE.

THEY HAD A FIGHT.

IT WASN'T PRETTY.

HORSEFLY LOST A WING. HONEYBEE LOST A WING, TOO.

"DRAT!"

Horsefly and Honeybee are now on foot, and disgusted with this unfortuitous turn of events, set out to trudge cross-country for home.

But as they soon discover, being an impromptu pedestrian is the least of their worries. In due course of time both are captured by a hungry frog, and the two former enemies find themselves together in reluctant captivity on a lily pad in the middle of a pond while Bullfrog forages for a bit more food, a tad of tasteful variety for his upcoming repast.

Double DRAT!

What a revolting development this is! The two are unable to swim for it, and with only one wing each, neither can fly away from what will soon be Bullfrog's dinner plate. What to do?

As author Cecil sagely quotes in his author's note, "We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another." (Luciano De Crescenzo), the two bugs combine their assets, and in an unlikely alliance manage to cooperate well enough to flap away on their combined wings just out of the reach of the long and tacky tongue of the frog. Bullfrog watches his dinner as it flies floppily but effectively away:

"DRAT!" SAID BULLFROG.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and Honeybee and Horsefly form a marriage of convenience that seems their only way out of their self-inflicted situation, finally finding a new napping place in a safe flower and a new partner in flight.

"Politics makes strange bedfellows," says the old proverb, and Randy Cecil's newest, Horsefly and Honeybee (Henry Holt, 2012) is a simple but powerful parable that applies broadly across much of human life. We're all stranded on the same lily pad, Cecil seems to be saying, and to quote yet another famous saying, reinforces the message that "In union there is strength." Kids will love listening to this one several times over and chiming in on the "Drats," but they will also sense the subtly delivered truth that sometimes we have to drop our differences, pool our powers, and get this thing off the ground before we all go down the tubes! Comic illustrated characters and a bright palette help get this little cautionary tale take off as a story time treat.

Bee-ing There: Little Bea by Daniel Roode

Little Bea
is a busy, busy bee.
When the sun wakes up,
so does she.

The whole wide world!
She needs to explore it

Like the members of his target audience, Daniel Roode's Little Bea (Greenwillow, 2011) is an energetic youngster who is up with the sun to start having fun. A true busy bee, her energy level gets her up and buzzing as soon as her friend Mr. Sun tells her "Good morning!"

There are friends to visit: Bea has to awaken Owl and rouse Duck and Goose for their daily game of chase. There is Beaver, who needs her help with his daily chores, and, oh, yum, there is Bear with honey to share.

With friends like Deer and Cricket and Moose to play games with, Little Bea is abuzz all day, until suddenly she notices that the moon is on the rise!

It's time for Little Bea to go home, too!

"Good night, Little Bea." says Moon.

For busy young ones, Little Bea's joy in meeting the new day is perfectly natural, good for toddler storytimes and a nice transition to bedtime. Daniel Roode's illustrations, done up in bright yellow, black, and primary colors, catch the infectious enthusiasm of Little Bea to a T.