Bruno the Beekeeper by Aneta Frantiska Holasova, Aneta Frantiska Dolasova, and Andrew Lass - OPTIONAL

Bruno the Beekeeper by Aneta Frantiska Holasova, illustrated by Aneta Frantiska Dolasova, translated by Andrew Lass. PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick Press, 2021. $20. 9781536214611 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Bruno, the bear, is a beekeeper. He inherited the bees from his grandfather, but it is his grandmother who helps him take care of them. In the fall, Bruno removes the supers, the part of the hives where the honeycombs are kept. He cleans them and lets them dry. He stores the empty combs in closets over the winter. He and grandma make candles from the beeswax made by melting the combs. Over the winter, Bruno feeds his bees with sugar water and the bees rest. In the spring, Bruno sets up the hive for business once again. The bees work hard all summer to make honey. Bruno will scrape honey off the combs and put the honey laden combs into an extractor to get out the rest. And, the process starts all over again. 

While Aneta created cute illustrations, the flow of the story is interrupted over and over by fact pages. Although this format could work, it does not in this book. The story feels choppy. It would have been better for Aneta to tell the story and then talk about the bees. The book is packed with information, but the format makes it confusing, especially for a young reader. Illustrating grandma as a human while Bruno is a bear was also confusing. 

MOMMAC