I did not know what to expect with Diary of a Bee by Stepanka Sekaninova and illustrated by Linh Dao when I saw the online reader copy (due mid April 2025). I figured it would be something like, “I wake up, brush my teeth, eat breakfast, go to (fill in space), lunch, dinner, snacks and go to bed.” You know, like a kid would do. But instead it is a fictionalized life of a bee. We start with “pre bee” and how they grow, hatch, and the next month or so of her life. We learn about drones and the queen as well. It is sweet, a little funny, and informative.
It is a cute story that has the facts cleverly intertwined with the story. You do not really feel like you are learning, but you could. Of course, for the really young you might have to explain why the drone bee we are following as well as our narrator returned and what that means (they didn’t do their job), but it is all tastefully done. It is life (and death) after all. NOTE and SPOILER there is mention of bees not returning to the hive, and yes, our bee is one of them. So it does not have a “Happily Ever After” ending, but it does have a realistic one.
The illustrations could be a smidge crowded at times, making it a bit harder to read, but overall they are nice, cozy, cute, colorful and keep things on the lighter side. There are a lot of hidden and not so hidden goodies, plus a few nods to humanizing things to make them relatable, like bottles to feed the just hatched bees). I think this would be a good book for insect, bee and animal lovers. It works for the individual child or classroom. It might not be a great read for a larger group, but a small or one-on-one read will work fine.