Let’s Be Bees
by Shawn Harris; illus. by the author
Preschool    Porter/Holiday    40 pp.
2/25    9780823457090    $18.99
e-book ed.  9780823462278    $11.99

Bold, comical crayon illustrations set the tone for a boisterous game of pretend and its noisy cacophony of sounds. “Let’s be bees,” suggests the text on the opening page, while the accompanying illustration shows a grownup reading this very book to a child. “LET’S BUZZ,” the adult encourages. When the page turns, the imaginative art steps up the energy, with the pair’s heads now two buzzing bees. From there, they joyously make appropriate noises as they pretend to be birds (“CHIRP!”) and then trees (“RUSTLE!”). The pace quickens (with a thunderstorm) and then quiets down briefly (with snow)—but then comes an avalanche. Surprising with every page-turn, the visuals explode into a series of immersive double-page spreads with speech bubbles full of onomatopoeia. In a climactic feat, the grownup and child attempt to be Earth and make all the sounds at once. The art, with its call for noise, becomes calmer as the book approaches the end, but the final page picks up speed for an encore: “AGAIN!” Busy endpapers full of creatures and natural marvels make useful prompts to extend the story with a variety of sounds.

From the March/April 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.