Danielle Davis

You’re either going to buy into the concept of Zinnia and the Bees or you aren’t, and I’m afraid I must confess to the latter. This has more to do with the limits of my imagination and grown-up sensibilities than Davis’s writing, though, and I feel confident that this book will appeal to actual middle-graders. For example, I think they will probably be more accepting of Dr. Flossdrop’s parenting and more willing to suspend their disbelief re: summer time hoodie wearing in show more California. (And, you know, thousands of bees inhabiting a girl’s hair.) The fact that I’m pretty sure Zinnia is an unreliable narrator helps. She is immensely likable as are the rest of the relatively eccentric individuals who round out the cast. (I absolutely adore Birch and his plaidness!) Really, this book reminded me an awful lot of Natalie Lloyd’s A Snicker of Magic , and I think the charming supporting characters had a lot to do with that. I mean, yes, there’s also the magical realism, mother-daughter issues, fun/crazy aunts, friends on a “mission,” ice cream, etc, but the characters give a story its heart. And both stories have a lot of heart. Definitely recommend Zinnia to any lovers of Lloyd!

Overall, a charmingly quirk tale that I plan to recommend.

ARC provided by NetGalley. show less

For me, the most interesting part of the book was this disclaimer in tiny print in the verso page indicia:

A NOTE TO PARENTS: This book depicts some activities which may be dangerous for young children to carry out unsupervised. The author, illustrator, and publisher expressly disclaim liability for any resulting injury or damages.

It seems to me this disclaimer could be in almost any children's book (I'm looking at you The Boxcar Children and Where the Wild Things Are.) This book has one show more child using an oven and another climbing a stepladder, and we get a disclaimer, but in all the Clifford books no one warns us about climbing on the back of a big red dog that's not equipped with seat belts.

As for the rest of the book, it just keeps repeating the words "gather, make, and wait" as if it weren't absolutely silly to include the word "make" in instructions of how to make something. Don't we maybe need to break that middle step down a little bit? Hmmmm? It's like asking your mom how she makes her delicious fudge, and she says, "Oh, just mix up a few things in a bowl." Great plan; thanks, Ma. show less

A heartwarming story of friendship, family, and homecoming, with a dash of yarn bombing and bees. Zinnia is having a terrible summer: her best friends shun her, her mother ignores her, her brother abandons her family, and now bees have taken residence in her hair. Enter a new friend and a plan, and Zinnia discovers how to reconnect with the people she loves while saving herself and the lost bees.

Zinnia and the bees was a very interesting book. As long as you can overlook a few flaws that the premise has, it's a great book.

This book deals with loss, friendships, figuring out who you are, and trying to understand people. These things are something that everyone struggles with from time to time and can be difficult to cope with on your own. I think that this book can help someone going through these things to understand that they aren't alone and that it is normal.

My overall rating show more for this book is a 4.5. show less