The Bumble and Bee books are going to be the next Elephant and Piggie series for the beginning reader. Ross Burach has created three stories about Bumble, Bee and Froggy in the first book, Don’t Worry,
Bee Happy: An Acorn Book. Coming out in late December 2019/early January 2020 your young reader can find out how Bumble and Bee and Froggy have adventures and misadventures as they take pictures, scare hiccups and doing a wiggly dance.
This book was not meant for me. It is meant for the modern reader who finds Nickelodeon humor funny. It is for the quirky kid who likes a bit of sarcasm with their books. It is mean for the reader who likes cartoon drawings and talking animals. It is for someone who liked having The Very Impatient Caterpillar read to them. And while I mostly enjoyed this, the fact that it did remind me of Piggie and other similar characters made this not a favorite.
At the end, there is a page on how to learn to draw Froggy. There is also a short paragraph that asks questions and you can therefore write and draw your own story. This is a fun touch to have an interactive element to the story. This way a teacher can adapt it for the classroom.
Burach has a signature style with his illustrations. They are brightly colored, detailed to fit the story and are cartoon and fun. They show off the main features of each character: Froggy’s “smile” and the enthusiastic personalities of Bumble and Bee.