Please Please the Bees

by Gerald Kelley

Overview

Benedict has a pretty sweet life for a bear. Every morning the bees leave a jar of honey on his doorstep, and every day he has honey for breakfast and honey in his tea. It’s an important part of his day. But all that changes when the bees go on strike. Now it’s up to Benedict to listen to the bees, and he realizes there’s a lot more he could be doing to help them. So he fixes up the hive and learns to be a better beekeeper. Will the bees be pleased?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807551868
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	09/15/2021
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	430,902
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Gerald Kelly has illustrated several picture books, including documentarian Ken Burns's bestselling children's book, Grover Cleveland, Again! He lives in Colorado.

Gerald Kelly has illustrated several picture books, including documentarian Ken Burns's bestselling children's book, Grover Cleveland, Again! He lives in Colorado.

Editorial Reviews

2017 Frances & Wesley Bock Book Award for Children's Literature
The Original Art 2017 Exhibit
2018 Storytelling World Resource Award Honor - Stories for Young Listeners
2018 ILA-CBC Children's Choices

"Kelley shows a knack for a wry turn of phrase, an effective economy with character development, and a good sense of textual pacing. The illustrations are frequently a hoot, in particular the many hovering bees holding their signs aloft as Benedict looks on in consternation, and Benedict's transformed yard is lovely to behold. This indeed should please the bees!"—Kirkus Reviews


"Gerald Kelley's charming Please Please the Bees joins the shelf of grumpy-bear-learns-a-lesson tales, and has a good reminder for gratitude and kindness in readers of all ages."—BookPage


"This beautifully illustrated picture book could serve multiple purposes, such as teaching students about appreciating those around you or introducing what it means to go on strike in a social studies class."—School Library Connection

From the Publisher

2017-03-06
From his morning toast with honey to a last cup of tea with honey at bedtime, Benedict's fondness for the sticky stuff defines just about everything he does. So when the honeybees go on strike, it's a crisis: breakfast tastes terrible, and his routine is thrown totally out of whack. A union rep holding a tiny "Strike!" sign opens negotiations. Benedict isn't having any of it: "I let you all live in my yard. All I ask is for a few jars of honey. You should be grateful." The bee is incredulous: "Buddy, we deliver three jars of honey to you every day. Every month! Every year! Do the math, Einstein!" The bee lists their grievances: a leaky, drafty hive and a weedy yard that forces mileslong flights to find flowers. Chagrined, Benedict does "some research…a little shopping…[and] a lot of work"; he even studies up on how to harvest the honey himself. The bee-yard now a pollinator's paradise, the union rep calls off the strike, and life is sweet once again—"for everyone." In his authorial debut, illustrator Kelley shows a knack for a wry turn of phrase, an effective economy with character development, and a good sense of textual pacing. The illustrations are frequently a hoot, in particular the many hovering bees holding their signs aloft as Benedict looks on in consternation, and Benedict's transformed yard is lovely to behold. This indeed should please the bees! (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews