ALA Booklist (Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2017)

A young girl in a high-rise apartment is surprised when a bee flies in her open window. The insect is tired and hungry, so the child revives her with sugar water and sends her off. Later, after a rainstorm, the girl assists the bee again, initiating an unlikely but satisfying friendship. After many shared city adventures, the now-enormous bee takes the child on a flight to the country, where they view the plants that are so vital to the bee's life. Following winter and spring, the bee returns, this time sporting a queen's crown. Jay's wordless picture book fairly teems with small details that will intrigue youngsters. The artwork, rendered softly in oils, favors sunny earth tones and makes good use of multiple perspectives and graphic-novel conventions. Although the science isn't quite right (real queen bees assume their role soon after hatching, not after multiple seasons), this story offers much to admire and appreciate. Appended with a few bee facts.

Horn Book (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

A city girl is scared when a bee flies into her room. But she overcomes her fear, and the bee soon grows bigger than its human friend; they set off on a fantastical airborne mission to gather seeds and spread them throughout the city. Without words, Jay's vibrant, folksy oil paintings communicate the story's messages regarding friendship and conservation. Includes a brief note on bees.

Kirkus Reviews

A little girl befriends a lost bumblebee in this wordless picture book.The scene opens on a bustling and ever-so-slightly surreal urban landscape; muted taupes and peaches give it a friendly if sterile look. A little white girl sits in a high-rise apartment reading a book on flowers when a large bee flies in her open window. In an eight-panel sequence, she fetches a fly swatter, causing the bee to back up against a windowsill, four whisper-thin legs held up in surrender, its two wide eyes visually echoing its dismayed O of a mouth. After consulting a book called Bee Culture, she prepares it a solution of sugar water, which the bee sips delicately from a spoon. She lets it go, but it returns, comically bedraggled, on a rainy day, and the friendship is cemented. The bee grows and grows until it's big enough for her to ride, its human facial features and fuzzy, brown-and-yellow-striped body anything but threatening. (A stinger is conspicuously absent.) Together they fly to the countryside, harvest seeds, and sprinkle them in the city so that the next spring, it's all abloom. Jay's oil paintings are soft and delicate, offering delight in the details. Even as the girl bonds with the bee, she also befriends a little brown-skinned boy in the apartment above. A page of bee facts concludes the book, with a focus on pollinator-friendly plants for readers to plant to encourage bees in their own environments. A sweet bee idyll. (Picture book. 3-5)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Jay (The Twelve Dancing Princesses) blends fact and fancy in this sweet wordless story about a girl-s friendship relationship with a bee. Initially startled when the bee buzzes into her bedroom in a high-rise apartment building, the girl rushes for a flyswatter. But she quickly recognizes that the bee could use her help, and she revives it with sugar water. The snack does its job and then some: soon, the bee is larger than the girl, and it carries the girl to a city park where they collect pollen from wildflowers and scatter it across the city. In cozy oil paintings, Jay mixes soaring spreads, smaller panels, and kicky spot images to clearly convey the story visually. She also fills the pages with urban details to pore over-especially the activities of the girls- neighbors, who include the bird-loving boy upstairs that she befriends after she bids the bee a fond farewell A closing note points to the plight of the dwindling honeybee population and suggests plants that readers can grow to help bee populations. Ages 2-5. (Mar.)

School Library Journal (Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2017)

PreS-Gr 2 A wordless story about a girl who befriends a bee and gains new insight into its world. When a bee flies into her room, the girl captures it under a glass. She researches its needs, feeds it sugar water, and sends it on its way, only for it to return wet and exhausted after a thunderstorm. Bee remains and grows under the girl's care until girl and insect fly away to collect seeds, scatter them across the city, and return to the apartment. Although the bee then leaves, a young boy who has witnessed the girl-bee interactions from his upstairs apartment becomes her companion over the following months. Spring brings new flowers, insects, and a final page surprise. Jay's lovely oil paintings include spreads, panels, and a double-page image filled with humorous vignettes of girl and bee enjoying music, bicycle rides, picnics, and more as marks on the wall record the bee's continued growth. The contrast between the dull view of the city at the outset and its depiction under a barrage of flower seeds against a brilliant blue sky with smiling sun looking on is striking. Many viewings will reward youngsters with ever more things to discover in the city and in the lives of its apartment dwellers. VERDICT A wonderful story of friendship that will invite many varied retellings. It also contains helpful back matter about the importance of bees and how to attract and protect them. Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Cambridge, MA