The Honeybee

Kirsten Hall is a former preschool and elementary school teacher who has authored more than a hundred learn-to-read stories for emergent readers.

By Kirsten Hall (Author), Isabelle Arsenault (Illustrator)
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
May 8, 2018

“In bouncy, lilting verse and vibrant, inviting artwork, this ode to the humble honeybee is dripping with charm…. Hall’s lively lines skitter around Arsenault’s warm, honey-colored illustrations…. With occasional speech balloons and delightfully expressive gestures, the bees mirror the gleeful tone of the poem…. Arsenault’s scenes are a captivating mixture of smudgy charcoals, soft yellows, and fluoresecent oranges, combining crisp shapes with more abstract figures.

The entertaining tone and freewheeling art are a pure joy, but there’s plenty of science here, too, and a closing note about the importance of bees to our ecosystem brings the point home. Boisterously written, gorgeously illustrated, and sneakily educational.” (Booklist, February 2018)

Read the complete article here.