The Bee Without Wings

by Amberlea Williams

Overview

An unexpected friendship between a girl and a wingless bee warmly teaches young readers about friendship and loss in this heartfelt tale for fans of Charlotte's Web and The Honeybee.

Finding a bumble bee without wings in her garden, Sasha is determined to help it survive, leading to an unexpected friendship. Sasha, Molly the cat, and Bea the bee share a joyful summer together and discover that you don't need wings to fly. When the time comes to say goodbye to Bea, Sasha finds a meaningful way to honor the life of her tiny friend.

The Bee Without Wings is a timeless story of friendship and loss for young readers, beautifully illustrated by author Amberlea Williams. This warm tale includes an activity for creating a bee pollinator garden, along with information on how to care for early spring bees.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781797222509
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	03/21/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	629,552
Product dimensions:	8.35(w) x 10.25(h) x 0.45(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

When Amberlea Williams was little, she loved drawing so much she ate her crayons. Her artist parents then offered less-edible art supplies and encouraged her to go to art school. She now spends her days illustrating, doing freelance graphic design, and teaching yoga. Williams lives in Ottawa, Canada, with her husband, son, and cat.

Editorial Reviews

2023-01-12
A warm relationship develops between a young child and a wingless bumblebee.

When Sasha notices the titular bee, she is immediately moved to help, first placing the inert body in the cup of a crocus, then offering her a sugar-water solution. The latter remedy works, reviving the bee, who comically poses on two pipestem legs, the other four flexed like a bodybuilder’s. In the land of the living the bee may be, but without wings, she can’t forage for food or flee predators. Christening her new insect friend Bea, Sasha cares for her all summer, even going so far as to fashion a homemade paraglider so Bea can experience flight. But bumblebees’ lives are short, “and one sad, unfixable day, Bea was gone.” The following spring, Sasha pays tribute to Bea with a bee-friendly garden. Williams’ flight of fancy is stronger visually than textually, illustrations investing both the peanut-shaped black-and-yellow bee and Sasha’s cat, Molly, with expressive appeal. Bea is voiceless, however, and this combines with her physical helplessness to undermine the illustrations’ efforts—she’s more an object for Sasha’s benevolence than a character with any real agency. Sasha has beige skin and a light-brown bob. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Real bees need human help; this fictional bee needs a character makeover to really fly. (bee facts, information on creating a bee-friendly garden) (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews