Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Bruno, a patient, golden-colored anthropomorphic bear, handles his beehives with great care in this narrative vehicle for a compendium of bee lore, with sufficient descriptions of beekeeping, equipment, bee behavior, and biology to serve as a capable resource. Bee facts alternate with honey-washed, sepia-inked sections featuring Bruno, who, Holasová says, "enjoyed a carefree life filled with mischief and fun" as a cub before inheriting his grandfather's bees. After careful study, Bruno and his grandmother, who makes candles from honeycombs and helps with chores, have become diligent workers--the counterparts of their bees. Each section is illustrated distinctively: the life cycles of workers, drones, and queens are painted in loose lines; bee species are portrayed with photographic precision; and anatomical diagrams are presented in chalklike lines, though the queen, whose ovaries, vagina, and sperm sac are all labeled, is strangely more detailed than the drones, which only bear the label "reproductive organs." Holasová's unusual blend of storytelling and fact feels oddly meshed, but this should capture the interest of young apiarists. Ages 7--10. (Mar.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2--5--This title presents interesting facts and illustrations about bees (worker bees, drones, and queen bees), the steps involved in the metamorphosis from egg to fully developed bee, the body parts of bees, and the life cycle of each type of bee. For example, a worker bee dies after 40 days. There is also information about caring for the hive during each of the four seasons. Yet there is a strange disconnect here too, as the scientific explanations are mixed with the story of Bruno the beekeeper, who happens to be a bear, and his grandmother and grandfather, who are humans. Grandma is depicted as a blonde woman with light skin. The text also mentions baby bears but does not include further details about this surprising situation. Bruno, despite his appearance, acts like a person since he sleeps in a bed, reads stories, and makes tea. There is also a disconnect between the words and illustrations as Bruno is shown fully clothed and wearing protective gear, but the text states that because he is a bear and has a thick fur coat, he doesn't need this protective suit. VERDICT This is a possible addition to books used in a classroom study of bees, but the fictional narrative serves a questionable purpose.--Myra Zarnowski, City Univ. of New York
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Bruno the bear keeps bees in this Czech import. Holasová weaves Bruno's activities with his bees in and around a bounty of information about honeybees and their keeping. Honey-and-sepia illustrations introduce worker, drone, and queen; their respective metamorphoses and anatomies; the structure of a managed beehive; and a beekeeper's protective clothing (though however "spiffy Bruno looks" in it, he mostly relies on his thick pelt). The narrative then begins with Bruno's late-fall activities: storing unnecessary hive parts for the winter, feeding the bees, and readying equipment for the spring. Spring brings blossoms, first inspections, and "supering up"--placing additional boxes for honey production on the hives; in summer comes the honey harvest. There is a surprising amount of technical information conveyed in this gentle book; children familiar with beekeeping will recognize the activities depicted, and explanations are both accurate and friendly to children who are not. There is humor in the near-constant cloud of bees around Bruno's head as he works, and beauty as well in lovely botanical watercolors. The whimsical depiction of adult bee faces on eggs and developing larvae is both inaccurate and a little weird; the introduction of bee parasites with no mention of routine treatment and prevention is a gap. Though loosely arranged according to the calendar, it is essentially a nonlinear narrative, and readers can dip in and out, making it more the primer of the subtitle than a read-aloud. Utterly bee-guiling. (index) (Nonfiction. 7-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
