THE KING OF BEES by Lester Laminack.  Illus. by Jim LaMarche.  Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers, 2018. 32p. ISBN 978-1561459537 hc. $17.99    Gr. K-3    E PIC

Flip through the pages and "read" the watercolor and ink illustrations to enjoy some visual storytelling before you read the text.  LaMarche and Laminack make a great storytelling team for this timely story about Henry and Aunt Lilla, who raise bees on their farm.  Henry's too young to wear the bee suit and tend the bee hive, so he asks lots of questions from a safe distance where he can see everything.  Aunt Lilla tells him that instead of talking, bees communicate with a series of movements called a dance.  When Henry sees the bees swarming, he worries they may leave the farm instead of forming a hive in the new box Aunt Lilla made - and takes action with a dance of his own.  After reading this sweet story about how important bees are to humans, readers may want to pursue the topic further.  The publisher has provided resources at http://peachtree-online.com/resources/the-king-of-bees.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI