Let's Be Bees - by Shawn Harris (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A parent and child play make-believe as a variety of animals, plants, and forces of nature"--

Book Synopsis

Father and child become buzzing bees, rustling trees, and more in this delightful make-believe romp from Caldecott Honor winner Shawn Harris.

The only thing better than playing make believe is playing make believe with your favorite grown-up! Especially when that grown-up's imagination is as big as yours, and you both get to make all kinds of funny sounds.

Fans of Shawn Harris's Caldecott Honor-winning debut Have You Ever Seen a Flower? and illustrations in the Newbery Medal-winning The Eyes and the Impossible will find a new instant favorite in Let's Be Bees. With bright, bold crayon illustrations, lilting, rhythmic words, and endless fodder for playing along, this is a read aloud guaranteed to bring on the giggles and requests to do it all again.

Review Quotes

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

About the Author

Shawn Harris is an award-winning creator of books for kids. He received a Caldecott Honor for his debut authored book Have You Ever Seen a Flower, which the New York Times called a "stunning tour de force." His work as an illustrator includes What Can a Citizen Do?, Her Right Foot, and the Newbery Medal-winning bestseller The Eyes and the Impossible, all written by Dave Eggers; A Polar Bear in the Snow by Mac Barnett; and Everyone's Awake by Colin Meloy, among others. He lives in Northern California, where he also writes songs, surfs, and plays racquetball.