Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 03/01/2020 While Kaia boasts that she’s brave, even “furry-spider-in-the-basement brave,” she is afraid of bees. Though her father reads about bees, talks about them, and keeps hives on their apartment building’s roof, Kaia screams when a bee lands on her arm. Determined to overcome her fear, she suits up as a beekeeper and helps Dad locate the queen bee in a hive. When Kaia is stung, it’s a setback. Still, when it’s time to harvest the honey, she helps in the kitchen. And when two bees find their way indoors, she lifts the window to let them escape and waves goodbye. Now she’s ready to brave the hives again. The colored-pencil illustrations, digitally enhanced, portray a biracial family in a friendly urban neighborhood and highlight Kaia's feelings. Kids will relate to Kaia’s fear and her determination to be brave. Although she understands bees’ importance in the environment and knows that she has her father’s support, she finds courage only when she begins to consider the bees’ viewpoint. An introduction to bees emerges through the natural-sounding dialogue in this expressive picture book. - Copyright 2020 Booklist.