This book’s greatest strength is Bibi’s user-friendly approach to tackling what at first glance seems to be an insurmountable problem. While she can’t stop growers from using harmful chemicals, she instead focuses on what she can do, and she enlists the aid of those close to her to get it done. Almost anyone can plant at least some type of bee-friendly flower, whether in the yard or a pot on the patio. This straightforward action will encourage kids to pursue their own solutions. Bibi also does not successfully sprout her seedlings on her first try. Her resilience and determination will encourage young readers not to give up on their own environmental pursuits.
Solomiia’s colorful illustrations show bright-eyed Bibi and her friends playing outdoors in an idyllic, grassy landscape lush with flowers and dotted with black-and-yellow striped bees. They are also shown smiling while digging in the dirt and treating their plant beds with stones, twigs, and compost, their excitement evident when their seedlings finally poke through the dirt after a nourishing rain. This encouraging story provides an accessible introduction to a growing problem—and shows kids simple ways they can help.
Takeaway: Rousing, informative picture book of a girl, a garden, and helping to save the bees.
Comparable Titles: Shabazz Larkin’s The Thing About Bees, Bethany Barton’s Give Bees a Chance.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
