It’s telling that the title of this deceptively simple book by Harris, a Caldecott Medal honoree, doesn’t try to cram in the word “pretend.” The father and son in this book aren’t pretending: They are embodying. During imaginative play, the pair fully transform — becoming bees, yes, but also trees, weather and a whole host of animals. Sometimes love is best expressed in shared silliness. Bright crayon illustrations add softness and humor.
—The New York Times
Harris’ ability to connect with children on their own level, while also being unafraid to get a little weird in the process, brings to mind such superb titles as Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd’s Goodnight Moon.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
In a sly, self-referential twist, the book the pair is reading—Let’s Be Bees—invites the audience into mimicry not just of the natural world but of the characters themselves.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Acclaimed authorillustrator and Caldecott Honor winner Harris pairs his simple, lyrical text with bright, vibrant colors in bold, childlike crayon strokes, with softly rounded shapes sustaining the cozy, endearing vibe. Certain to inspire further imaginative explorations with its playful, participatory fun, this joyful celebration of shared make-believe conjures endless possibilities for whimsical delight, inviting readers to return “again! again!
—Booklist (starred review)
Readers of Shawn Harris’s Caldecott Honor-winning Have You Ever Seen a Flower? have every reason to hope for another effervescent, imagination-stoking fantasia, and that’s precisely what they get with Let’s Be Bees, a picture book full of noises that isn’t really a book about noises.
—Shelf Awareness
Bold, comical crayon illustrations set the tone for a boisterous game of pretend and its noisy cacophony of sounds.
—The Horn Book
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