A review by chewdigestbooks
The King of Bees by Lester L. Laminack
4.0
I always feel that I need to so a shout out to the illustrator first, in this case, Jim LaMarche. His soft illustrations in colored pencil/watercolor? style is calming and fits the setting of the tidal area of South Carolina and the story well. There wasn't a ton going on, which is why they were calming and beautiful, yet they were expansive and made you want to explore the marshes and outlines of the designs further. (an odd feeling that I don't remember having with a picture book before.)
Onto the story by Lester Laminack. It was charming and calming as well with Henry's simple life with his Aunt Lila. The story centers on the bees and Aunt Lila telling Henry that he isn't old enough yet to really help, yet allowing him to help from a distance with the smoker. As all children are, Henry is impatient and can't wait to get his own bee suit.
As he sits on a stump nearby, his Aunt slowly teaches him about bees and bee colonies and while he has helped with other tasks on the small farm, like gathering eggs, the bees and their habits fascinate them. (The epilogue mentions that Laminack is also entranced by Bees and gives a few interesting facts to interest you as well as a site to learn more.)
Soon, there is a swarm and, like many kids, Henry can't wait to do whatever it is that he's not old enough for yet. All works out well, yet...my one issue with this delightful book is that he is almost rewarded for doing something that an adult told him not to, instead of at least getting a message that he needs to listen when an adult says no.
However, I love the book for teaching about bees and appreciate Henry's personal attachment to one specific thing or animal on the farm. As bees and their pollinating are vital for most or not all of our food production, it's important for kids to learn about them and hopefully continue to do so as they grow up since many species are in trouble right now. Therefore, I'll give the lack of a warning or punishment a pass and chalk it up to a teachable moment for parents when they are finished sharing it with their kids.
Onto the story by Lester Laminack. It was charming and calming as well with Henry's simple life with his Aunt Lila. The story centers on the bees and Aunt Lila telling Henry that he isn't old enough yet to really help, yet allowing him to help from a distance with the smoker. As all children are, Henry is impatient and can't wait to get his own bee suit.
As he sits on a stump nearby, his Aunt slowly teaches him about bees and bee colonies and while he has helped with other tasks on the small farm, like gathering eggs, the bees and their habits fascinate them. (The epilogue mentions that Laminack is also entranced by Bees and gives a few interesting facts to interest you as well as a site to learn more.)
Soon, there is a swarm and, like many kids, Henry can't wait to do whatever it is that he's not old enough for yet. All works out well, yet...my one issue with this delightful book is that he is almost rewarded for doing something that an adult told him not to, instead of at least getting a message that he needs to listen when an adult says no.
However, I love the book for teaching about bees and appreciate Henry's personal attachment to one specific thing or animal on the farm. As bees and their pollinating are vital for most or not all of our food production, it's important for kids to learn about them and hopefully continue to do so as they grow up since many species are in trouble right now. Therefore, I'll give the lack of a warning or punishment a pass and chalk it up to a teachable moment for parents when they are finished sharing it with their kids.